x
Breaking News
More () »

'I wish I could have done better'; JCPS bus driver resigns after student violently assaulted

Lillian Dixon, 38, said she has since resigned from JCPS and is "deeply sorry" for what happened on her bus.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Days after a middle school student was assaulted on a Jefferson County Public School (JCPS) bus, the driver of that bus says she is "deeply sorry" the child was badly injured under her watch.

Video of the fight on a bus from Kammerer Middle School has circulated for several days. Since then, community members have rallied around 12-year-old Kionni Davis. The young boy still had deep bruises on his face Wednesday. 

Lillian Dixon, 38, was driving the bus when the fight unfolded. 

After driving with JCPS for two years, Dixon said the district pulled her off the road, saying she should have pulled over and alerted police. 

In a Facebook Live video on Friday, she apologized directly to Davis' mother.

Credit: Lillian Dixon, Facebook
Lillian Dixon apologized to Kionni Davis' mother for not doing more to protect her son after a violent assault on a JCPS bus. | Sept. 13, 2024

"I'm sorry I didn't work hard enough if that's what you think from what you've seen, I honestly do not put you at fault for being angry," she said.

Dixon also responded to comments from the community.

"Y'all were saying I didn't care or I just kept driving," Dixon said. "I was in traffic, I was looking for somewhere to pull over so I could check on your baby, so I could get your baby back to school to be safe."

In a late night phone call with WHAS11, Dixon again doubled down on her apology.

"I wish I could have done better," she told WHAS11's Doug Proffitt, adding that the district gave her the option to be fired or resign and she chose to resign. 

Kionni's mother, Whitney Davis, said she has pulled her son out of JCPS and is looking at a possible lawsuit.

JCPS said the students in the video who assaulted Davis will be disciplined according to the student behavior handbook.

Make it easy to keep up-to-date with more stories like this. Download the WHAS11 News app now. For Apple or Android users.

Have a news tip? Email assign@whas11.com, visit our Facebook page or Twitter feed.

   

Before You Leave, Check This Out