LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — As Clark County School District students head back to class on Tuesday after winter break, a bus driver for the district is out of a job after she was fired and arrested by CCSD police.
The bus driver, Gabriela Martinez-Saldana, was accused of abusing a student, but in exclusive interviews with both the student's family and the bus driver, 13 Action News has learned the district may have acted too soon.
In September 2022, Martinez-Saldana was continuing her work as a bus driver for CCSD.
“I believed it was the best job I'd ever had in my 46 years of life,” Martinez-Saldana said, but before the end of the month, her career came to an abrupt stop.
On Sept. 23, 2022, Martinez-Saldana was ending her usual bus route at Advanced Technologies Academy. As students exited the bus, Martinez-Saldana quickly walked to the restroom inside the school. Martinez-Saldana suffers from urinary incontinence and shared she had experienced accidents on the job before.
What she didn’t realize was that a 20-year-old special needs student, Lewonte Allen, was still on the bus, asleep in his seat. Lewonte suffers from fetal alcohol syndrome and his guardian, Felicia Hayes, says it mainly affects his attention span.
In CCSD surveillance footage obtained by KTNV, Martinez-Saldana can be seen returning from the restroom approximately 7 minutes later. She does a quick check of the aisles and walks past Lewonte, mistaking him for a clothing item left behind.
Martinez-Saldana then buckles into her seat and drives off.
“They always leave backpacks and bags so I walked quickly past the seat and I thought they left a jacket behind because it didn't move or anything. I just thought they left something behind,” she said.
Meanwhile, Lewonte was still sleeping, covered by his jacket. It wasn't until Martinez-Saldana's next stop that she realized he was on board.
"I realized and said ‘oh my goodness!’ I realized he was there because he started moving,” Martinez-Saldana said. She tapped Lewonte on his shoulder, woke him up, and immediately returned him to the school.
“My focus at that moment was to quickly go to my manager and explain what had happened," she said, but what Martinez-Saldana didn’t know was that it would eventually lead to her firing and arrest.
“I knew they could reprimand me and possibly even fire me, but I never in a million years thought I would go to jail,” Martinez-Saldana added.
While the incident was under investigation for the next few weeks, Saldana told us she was in constant contact with the school district and her union. She was placed on paid leave, which she was told was standard protocol, but as time passed, her concern grew and she says communication dwindled.
Eventually, Martinez-Saldana said the district suspended her pay and shortly afterward, school district police contacted her requesting a formal statement.
“I received a call from a detective with the CCSD police department," Martinez-Saldana recalled. "She told me I needed to go to the department in person to give a statement. I was excited because it was the first time anybody asked me for one."
When Martinez-Saldana asked if her union representative could be included in the conversation, police revealed that her case was considered criminal.
“How could this be criminal? For something where nobody was hurt? I did what I thought was right. I was devastated,” Martinez-Saldana said, describing that moment as the worst of her life.
Martinez-Saldana said at that moment, she felt gutted and empty. She questioned how that could happen if Lewonte was returned safely to school, and his guardian had the same questions.
"What did the investigation entail if it didn't involve me — the major stakeholder for this child?” said Felicia Hayes.
Martinez-Saldana hired an attorney but was told she’d have to turn herself into CCSD police, who arrested her on one count of abuse of a vulnerable person.
“She didn't leave a baby. She left a 20-year-old young man attending an academy that's preparing him for the workforce. So, how does she get that charge?” said Hayes.
"They put a chain around my waist and my wrists just like if I were a criminal,” Martinez-Saldana said.
Martinez-Saldana was released hours later, but in accordance with the school district’s transparency policy, her arrest was made public. The former bus driver says she was humiliated and hopeless.
The family of Lewonte Allen is standing beside her and giving her hope. They would like answers from the school district and justice for a woman they believe is innocent
"I'll do all I can to help her get her name back. That's just so ridiculous,” said Hayes.
CCSD confirmed Martinez-Saldana’s termination and released a statement reading in part:
“Once referred to the district attorney’s office, the matter proceeds through the judicial process, and CCSD plays no part in determining the outcome. The DA's office has sole authority to pursue or dismiss charges on a case-by-case basis. If CCSD police arrest a staff member, the district reports that information as we do with other employee arrests.”
The Clark County district attorney's office has declined to press charges in this case.
As for Martinez-Saldana, she says she has no plans to get her job back or file a lawsuit. She simply wants to clear her name.
