A Forney family is demanding justice after their 5-year-old daughter was left locked inside a daycare bus for approximately two hours in triple-digit heat last month. One person has been arrested in connection with the incident which occurred on August 14 at Arka Montessori.
The child’s father Sorie Tejan spoke out publicly saying he wants accountability for what happened to his daughter. The family has chosen not to release the girl’s name but retained attorney Michael Collier of The Collier Law Firm to represent them.
According to the family’s attorney it was the girl’s first week of school and she fell asleep during the bus ride to after-school care. When she woke up she was unable to exit the vehicle and no staff member had noticed she was still on board.
The situation was not discovered until the girl’s older sister arrived to pick her up and daycare employees told her the child had never checked in. The sister immediately contacted their mother who rushed to the facility and began searching frantically.
After checking inside the building without success the mother went outside and called out her daughter’s name. The child heard her mother’s voice from inside the bus and began banging on the door which is how she was ultimately located.
The mother transported the girl directly to a hospital where she was treated for dehydration. The family alleges the child endured the dangerous conditions for roughly two hours in extreme Texas heat.
Attorney Collier noted that Texas law requires childcare centers that transport children to account for every child at all times. He said this incident represents a direct failure to follow those legally mandated safety protocols.
Forney police confirmed the arrest but did not immediately release additional details about the individual taken into custody. Arka Montessori had not responded to multiple requests for comment as of the time of reporting.
Three weeks after the traumatic event the family expressed gratitude that their daughter survived while urging authorities and childcare providers to strengthen safety measures. The family’s pastor the Reverend Silvanos Chapman publicly praised what he called a miracle outcome.
The girl’s mother Tidankay Tejan said the experience has been devastating and expressed a clear message for other families and institutions. “I don’t want this to happen to anybody because the nightmare is just too much” she said.
