A South Carolina family has reached a $175,000 settlement with a school district after accusing a bus driver of continuing to drive even after a young girl’s arm became trapped in the vehicle’s door.
The Horry County School District agreed to the payout to resolve a lawsuit filed by Stephanie Floyd-McInnis on behalf of her then 8-year-old daughter. The suit claimed the district was negligent in hiring the driver, identified as Thomas Michael Interlandi, and failed to train him properly.
According to the lawsuit, the incident happened in August 2023 near Conway. The girl was preparing to exit the bus at her stop when she spotted dogs nearby that frightened her and stepped back inside. The driver allegedly grew angry and ordered her to get off, but she refused out of fear. He then shut the door, catching her arm, before moving the bus to a different spot. Even after she told him her arm was trapped, the lawsuit claims he kept driving.
The suit further alleges the driver told the girl that getting her arm caught “serves you right,” and later complained to a bus aide that she “shouldn’t have put her hand there.”
The girl reportedly suffered serious injuries that required medical treatment. Following the incident, criminal charges were brought against the driver for allegedly placing a child at risk, though those charges were later dropped. The district removed him from his position after the case came to light.
The girl’s mother said she pursued the case not just for her daughter, but to warn other parents about what happened. Her attorney described the driver’s conduct as a serious abuse of trust that put a child’s safety at risk, adding that the settlement is meant to push the school system toward stronger accountability for student safety on its buses.