After reading this story, I can do nothing but shake my head and wonder how people make it through a day without doing real harm to themselves or others. And not just the clueless grandpa but the dumb little kid.
According to an incident report, the 65-year-old grandfather went to Edisto Primary School to pick up his grandson early from school on May 19. When the grandfather arrived, he noticed “a group of students leaving the gymnasium” and he “spotted a young man who he thought was his grandson.”
The report said the grandfather approached the boy, gave him a hug, and said he was there to pick him up early. He asked the boy, who he thought was his grandson, if he was ready to go and the little boy said “yes.” A teacher’s assistant told deputies that she asked the student, “Was this your granddad?” and the student said “yes.”
At that point, the report said, the student and the man went to the front office so the boy could be signed out. According to the school, the grandfather was on the approved list of people who can pick up students.
OK so the old man thinks it’s his grandkid, the kid thinks he knows the guy, everyone at school thinks this is legit. No one has any idea these two people don’t know each other. Here’s where I’m thinking the kid is mostly to blame.
The report goes on to say the grandfather put the child in his car and his wife, without turning around in the car, handed the boy a Happy Meal.
Of course the kid is going to keep his mouth shut! Not only did he get out of school early but he got a Happy Meal! He’ll figure out the logistics of getting home later, he’s got fries to eat. He just had to say from the jump “I don’t know you, old coot” and granddad would have noticed he was hugging up on the wrong kid.
The report continued that when the old man and the kid got home, the grandmother noticed that the boy was not their grandson. The grandparents then returned the kid to the school where administrators notified the child’s mother.
Everyone is shoulder shrugging the incident off with a “whoops” except the kid’s dad. He’s pissed.
“If they didn’t bring him back my son could’ve been gone,” Darrin Pressley said. “It’s gross negligence on the school’s part. My thing is, you know, have a prevention so this could never happen again.”
The school has taken measures to make sure an incident like this will never happen again. They’ve burned down McDonald’s.
[via KPLC]