PETERS TOWNSHIP, Pa. — Only Channel 11 can show you the moment a man boarded a Peters Township Elementary School bus full of children and yelled racial slurs at the driver last November.
Mark Ferrari was charged with ethnic intimidation.
On Tuesday, a judge sentenced Ferrari to two years of probation plus anger management after he pleaded guilty.
At his sentencing, the grandfather of a 9-year-old boy told the judge, "My 9-year-old grandson was trapped on that bus with 17 other small children held captive and terrorized for a brief time. But a brief time can seem a lot longer for a child."
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We blurred the kid's faces, but several are wide-eyed, others duck down like they're hiding and stay down until Ferrari leaves the bus.
In court, Ferrari read a statement, apologizing to the judge, students and parents:
I'm writing this letter to publicly apologize to you, the students and their parents.
I made a horrible mistake allowing my emotions to take over.
I felt frightened and felt panicked.
I used offensive language toward the bus driver.
Repeatedly reliving these details with my family and therapist; I believe it was road rage.
When I drove off the road I felt my life was in danger.
I wish I could take back my actions and I'm embarrassed I made the ugly remarks.
I should have never stepped onto the school bus. That was not the proper way to handle it.
I used poor judgment in my state of fear and my anxiety took over.
I feel worse now that I have come to know there were children on that bus.
I wish to apologize to these children and their parents.
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