Seattle - A pregnant woman who was kicked off a city bus when her baby's dirty diaper was deemed to be a disturbance to other passengers has rejected an apology and may sue. "You don't just come out of nowhere and kick a mom off a bus with a sick child," Nichole Hakimian told local ABC affiliate KOMO. Hakimian says the problem she ran into this week as she took her sick 1-year-old son to the doctor took the stress of traveling with a baby to a whole new level. "He had just pooped in his diaper as soon as I got on [the bus]," she told ABC News. "Right after that, the bus driver told me to get off the bus," Hakimian said. "I said, 'why is that?' She said, 'your baby … smells really bad. And it's not fair that we all have to smell that.'"
The 4-month pregnant mom then exited to the bus, she says, still a mile and a half away from her baby's doctor. Seattle Metro opened an investigation into the incident and said the driver in question is a 9-year veteran employee with an excellent record, according to KOMO. "This is a very unique situation. Our goal is always to balance the comfort of all of our riders with providing good customer service," a spokesman said. "The driver didn't violate Metro policy - she felt she had to advocate for her passengers by politely and apologetically asking the woman to exit the bus." Hakimian, however, says that statement is not enough. "You need disciplinary action, and I think they went about it the wrong way," she told KOMO. "When you do something wrong - no matter what it is, no matter what circumstance - you need to be punished for that."
This isn't the first instance of a mom and a baby booted off public transportation just for the baby acting like a baby. Last year, video captured a Portland woman struggling with a crying baby in the back of a bus. The clip went viral after she was kicked off for making too much noise. The driver was reportedly disciplined. But who's really to blame when babies interrupt an innocent commuter's ride? "The baby was just being a baby, pooping or crying, and yet we're saying get off the bus," Melissa Lawrence, CEO of Cloudmom.com said. "So that's clearly intolerant."
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7 comments:
This pisses me off! The baby was doing what it does best - being a baby! The treatment this mom/passenger went through was totally uncalled for.
You know, I'm pretty hardcore about stuff, but if it were me (pregnant + sick baby + a mile away from my destination), I would have burst into tears. What an awful way to treat another person! And newsflash- babies poop! All the time! What I can't believe is how people don't get kicking off the bus for having loud, obnoxious, curse-word filled cell phone conversations on the bus.
You do not know this moms medical condition. How do you know she wasn't in a high risk pregnancy. If that was the case the extra walk wouldn't be good. Also, if she was less than a mile from her destination. The bus driver could have just held his/her nose and drop her off. It would only be for another five minutes. It may be disgusting but no one will die from a stinky diaper.
A person may gag. May not be able to have breakfast or lunch for the day. I couldn't stand taking the bus. I did for a year off and on. Hated it.
I am with the driver on this one! A foul-smelling diaper is an unfair torture to the other drivers and the toddler! Another option is to get off the darn bus, change the diaper, and get back on another bus. Everybody wins!
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