Boy, 11, jumps from bus ‘to avoid bullying’: ‘He could have lost his life’

Georgia middle school student ‘could have lost his life’, says father

Outside the Youth Middle School in Walton County, Georgia (FOX 5 Atlanta)

An 11-year-old boy was injured and suffered from concussion after jumping from a school bus to avoid bullying, according to family.

The boy’s father, Dion Murphy, told FOX 5 Atlanta that the incident followed months of bullying from other Walton County School District students.

On 5 May, Mr Murphy said his son “felt [his] back was up against the wall,” and jumped out of a bus window. The students were from the Youth Middle School in Walton County.

"One student jumped in his face,” said Mr Murphy after viewing footage from the incident, “he was pushing him against the window”

The father continued: “When he fell, the other student took his shoe and in a desperate attempt to escape it, he jumped out the window.”

According to investigators, the 11-year-old then rolled onto the roof of a pickup truck, before falling off — causing a broken elbow and concussion.

Both the bus and the truck were thought to be stationary and at a red light on state highway 81, outside the city of Atlanta, Georgia.

The Walton County School District told The Independent: “Following a bus incident on 5 May, a Walton County School District student sustained minor, non-life-threatening injuries. The other students and driver on the bus were not injured.”

“School and district officials are aware of the bullying allegations made in connection with this event. The Walton County School District does not tolerate bullying or harassment of any kind,” it continued,

“All allegations and claims of bullying are taken seriously and appropriately addressed according to the Student Code of Conduct. Due to federal privacy laws, no information on the actions taken by the school or district can be provided.”

Mr Murphy told FOX 5 that a meeting with the school on Friday was the second of its kind about concerns of bullying, but that officials did not act.

"There's more tapes [of the bullying] and that's why I'm so upset because the school neglected the bullying act and did not do anything about it," said Mr Murphy. "They took it as horse-play, but my son could have lost his life."