Parents in Grafton, Massachusetts, are confronting a nightmare scenario after a routine afternoon bus ride turned into a criminal case. Prosecutors say a veteran driver repeatedly veered from approved routes, made unapproved stops, and left young children alone on a parked bus, conduct that now has him facing kidnapping and child endangerment charges. The allegations have jolted a community that relies on school transportation as a daily act of trust.
Investigators and school officials are now piecing together how a driver entrusted with some of the district’s youngest students allegedly went “rogue” on his route, disabling cameras and misleading dispatchers. The case is forcing uncomfortable questions about oversight, technology, and how quickly red flags are acted upon when something feels off on the ride home.
The alleged “rogue” route and chilling bus stops
Authorities say the trouble began when a Grafton family reported that their child’s bus ride home had taken an unsettling turn, with the vehicle making stops that were not part of the normal route and arriving significantly late. That complaint led officials to identify the driver as Redi Gace, a 54-year-old from Worcester who had been assigned to general student transportation routes in Grafton. Police say the driver is accused of going off course without any explained or legitimate reason, behavior that one video clip described as a school bus driver “facing kidnapping charges” after allegedly going rogue on his route, according to Police.
Investigators say one of the most disturbing episodes involved a very young child. Earlier in the school year, on a day identified in court records as Dec. 4, Gace was driving a 3-year-old girl home but allegedly took a road that was not on that particular route, according to Cops. Prosecutors say that incident, along with later deviations, helped build the case that the driver was not simply lost or improvising around traffic, but intentionally departing from approved paths with children on board.
Disabled cameras, cold weather and a pattern of risk
Once the family complaint came in, the bus company and school officials launched a review of video and audio from the vehicle. That internal check, described in court records, found that the interior camera was not functioning and that the front-facing exterior camera was covered, according to a summary that begins, “During their investigation.” Prosecutors now allege that Redi Gace deliberately disabled or obscured those cameras, cutting off a key safeguard that districts increasingly rely on to monitor student safety.
Weather conditions on the day of the main incident were believed to be cold, at or below freezing, according to Weather details cited in the complaint. In that context, prosecutors say the driver parked the bus, left children inside alone, and stepped away without authorization, behavior that state law treats as reckless endangerment when temperatures are at or below freezing. A separate bus video from Dec. 4 shows Gace accessing the camera system, reinforcing prosecutors’ claim that the equipment problems were not accidental.
Kidnapping charges, bail conditions and community fallout
The Worcester County District Attorney’s office has identified the defendant as a Stream driver assigned to routes in the 508 area, and he now faces two counts of kidnapping a child, reckless endangerment of a child, and related offenses, according to charging documents summarized in Mass. reports. In Westborough District Court, Westborough District Court records show he was ordered held on significant bail while the case proceeds. A separate broadcast described the suspect as a school bus driver accused of committing several crimes against children, underscoring the gravity of the allegations.
Court filings indicate that if If Gace makes bail and is released, he will be prohibited from having contact with anyone under 16 and placed on house arrest with a GPS monitor. The district has emphasized that it is cooperating fully with investigators and providing support and resources to affected families, according to statements summarized in background materials. For parents watching the case unfold, the legal language around kidnapping and reckless endangerment is less striking than the core allegation: that a driver entrusted with their children treated the route home as his own to alter.
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