Middle school student rushed to hospital after fight on school bus

A fight that took place on a Baldwin-Whitehall school bus two weeks ago between a 6th grader and an 8th grader sent the 6th grader to the hospital.

The 6th grader’s father says he warned the school that this could happen because his son has had issues with bullies.

“It became a group thing, making my son extremely uncomfortable until it became something physical, which I knew was coming. The school was warned it was coming multiple times,” Jason Scanlon said.

Scanlon is speaking out after his son ended up at UPMC Children’s Hospital two weeks ago while riding home on his Harrison Middle School bus.

A video that other students recorded shows some of the fight.

“It was a Tuesday, he went to school - apparently got into a little bit of an argument with this younger girl who ended up being the sister of the child who attacked him,” Scanlon added.

The incident prompted the Whitehall Police Department to file a simple assault charge against the 8th-grade student who hit Scalon’s son, Jacen.

“He’s wearing a cast and the first punch he throws is at my son’s nose with a cast,” Scanlon said.

The bus driver pulled over to stop the fight and called 911. Whitehall police responded and Jacen was taken to UPMC Children’s Hospital with a broken nose and a mild concussion.

“It should’ve been handled differently, much differently,” he said

Scanlon says he tried talking to the Harrison Middle School principal months ago.

“Emails, meetings, phone calls, multiple times I went to him for help,” he said.

Channel 11 spoke with the Baldwin-Whitehall School District Superintendent, Dr. Randal Lutz.

“This was not just an 8th grader beating up a 6th grader,” he said. “This was two students who chose to engage in a fight. The matter began before the students got onto the bus and involved a disagreement that involved family members. Both students had the opportunity to de-escalate and did not.”

Scanlon and the 8th-grade student were suspended from school for three days. Both boys are back in classes.

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