4-Year-Old Surprises Driver When She Gets On The Bus At 3 AM

There are still a lot of good people in this world. One of them is a bus driver named Harlan Jenifer. He was out at 3 am to drive his bus around Torresdale Avenue near Cottman in the Tacony neighborhood. Then out of the blue, he saw a little girl waiting at the bus stop.

It was 4-year-old Annabelle!

Harlan got up early to drive his usual SEPTA bus route 56 that day even though it was raining. On his way to Tacony, a man stopped his car and told him that he had seen a little girl waiting for the bus and she was all by herself.

As it turned out, Annabelle was patiently waiting for the bus. She was in her purple jammies and wearing a raincoat and boots. And when the bus driver saw her, he was surprised. People on the bus were also shocked to see such a small child standing in the rain by herself waiting for the bus.

Talking to Inside Edition, the bus driver shared, “Got to be kidding me! At this time, at 3 o’clock in the morning. She’s a small little thing. It kind of just shocked me.”

At 3 AM., seeing a preschooler alone with no parent in sight waiting at a bus stop is quite a bit of a surprise. Harlan was shocked when he, later on, learned why. Annabelle had walked five blocks in the rain before she was found at the bus station.

But first, he had to do whatever it took to get the girl back to her parents. Harlan called the police. And while Annabelle sat on the bus, other people made sure she was okay and tried to keep her calm. The young girl comfortably talked to the other people on the bus about why she was traveling so early in the morning.

Harlan shared, “All I want is a slushie, that’s all she said!”

Within an hour, police officers came to get Annabelle and take her back to her parents. They couldn’t believe that their little girl had gone out so early in the morning to get a frozen treat.

Annabelle’s mother, Jaclyn Mager, was very happy to hear that these kind people found her daughter. She couldn’t even think about what would have happened if things had turned out differently. A little girl outdoors in the wee hours of the morning is never safe. Yes, her parents were happy to see her again, but Annabelle seemed a little upset because she was not able to get her slushie.

Jaclyn was also very thankful for the kind bus driver and the passengers who kept Annabelle calm. Annabelle’s father, Timothy Ridgeway, was worried about what might have happened if the people who found her hadn’t been as kind as they were. He said, “My mind is wanting to go places, it’s hard not to. Thank God for the bus driver.”

And during an interview with Action News just a few days later, Annabelle asked her mother, “Mom, can you take me to Wawa and get me a slushie?”

The loving mother responded. “I will take you to Wawa and get you a slushie. But listen, promise me next time you’ll wait for me, okay?”

Annabelle agreed…