FARGO — Valley Bus admitted to dropping off two kindergarten students along a four-lane highway, who were then left to find their own way home, calling it a "justifiable concern."

Allison Darling held her 5-year-old son Parker's hand after his third day of kindergarten at Kennedy Elementary. She wants to make sure her son gets home safely.

"I don't feel safe using the bus company right now," she said.

Darling has felt this way since Parker and a neighbor were dropped off by a Valley Bus driver at a random spot along 42nd Street Friday afternoon. This forced the boys to walk about two blocks unsupervised, and cross the busy four-lane road with no crosswalk in sight.

The speed limit on 42nd Street is 40 mph.

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"It's not the interstate, but definitely too busy for a 5-year-old," Darling said.

The moms were at the designated bus stop waiting in a residential neighborhood for their sons. They became concerned when half an hour passed, and the bus passed through without their boys. Then the children appeared from the opposite direction.

"He could have been hit by a car, bitten by a dog, kidnapped or distracted by a park," Darling said about her son.

According to the bus company and Fargo school leaders, the confusion started when Parker and his neighbor were put on the wrong bus by teachers after school. The district and bus company made it clear the teachers were given the wrong information due to a route change.

"I'm furious at this man for just throwing my kid out in the middle of 42nd Street, saying 'find your way home'," Darling said about the driver.

Valley Bus said the driver was trying to get the boys home before another route was set to begin. The general manager of the company said the driver will be reprimanded, and issued this statement:

"I think the driver could have done a better job of getting them back home," said John McLaughlin, general manager of the company.

Darling pointed out the address of each boy is printed on their backpacks.

"My son was dropped off in the middle of the road instead of dropped off at home," she said.

The general manager for Valley Bus said that while kids just being dropped off at random locations is uncommon, having kids on the wrong bus at the beginning of the year is not.

He estimated about 20 kids were on the wrong bus Monday and said as the school year gets into full swing, that number decreases.