Moment 67-year-old school bus driver accelerates and hits a seventh-grader after pulling over the vehicle, leaving the youngster covered in cuts and bruises

Screaming children filmed the moment a Missouri driver marched down the aisle of a noisy school bus, grabbed a seventh-grader by the shirt and tried to strangle him.

Zachary Carrel was left with cuts on his face and bruises on his neck after he was pinned to his seat and punched by Scott Robert Livingstone on the bus leaving Heritage Middle School in Liberty, prosecutors say.

The bus was still on campus when the attack occurred and a district safety officer escorted Zachary from the vehicle and ordered Livingstone to wait until police arrived.

But the 67-year-old closed the door and left with a bus full of children who were “crying and screaming” by the time the bus was stopped by police.

“There was an adult man on top of him, choking him and punching him in the face repeatedly,” said Zachary’s mother Nicole Danna, “No child should have to go through something like that.”

Zachary Carrel tried to protect his head as blows rained down on the Heritage Middle School bus in Liberty, Missouri

Zachary was left with cuts and bruises on his face and neck after the attack on the 494 route

The boy told his parents that children were joking as they boarded the bus after school on Thursday.

Livingstone was on board as a substitute driver and shouted, “Sit down or I’m going to beat you up,” according to court documents.

When Zachary told him, “You can’t touch me,” the driver rushed back and grabbed the high school student by the collar before wrapping his hands around his neck.

The boy managed to push Livingstone back into the seat opposite but was turned around by the burly driver, who began raining punches before shocked classmates managed to drag him away.

Livingstone was arrested a mile away when police caught up with his bus, from which several students called 911.

He told police he became “irritated” and approached Zachary who had “opened his mouth or said something,” grabbing the student by the top of his T-shirt.

The irate driver said he was “trying to scare him, not hurt him,” and found himself thrown to the ground during the scuffle.

But he was arrested and charged with a fourth-degree felony, pleading not guilty during a hearing on the charge Monday afternoon.

Livingstone, 67, told police he just wanted to “scare” the boy, but he has been fired from Heritage Middle School and charged with fourth-degree assault

Zachary’s parents, Nicole Danna and Brad Carrel, said their son is reluctant to resume trips on the school buses and are demanding better controls of those employed to drive them.

“It’s infuriating,” said Zachary’s father Brad Carrel, “never should a child have the experience of being attacked by an adult.

‘He was helpless. He couldn’t do anything,” Danna said after her son called her from school.

“He said, ‘Mom, I just got attacked by the bus driver.’ I was choked and beaten several times,” she told KCTV5.

“It was heartbreaking,” she continued, “I wasn’t there to protect my child.

“For an adult who is so much older and should know better, it is not okay to abuse our child in this way.”

The school said it fired Livingstone, and that “the safety of our students at school, or in this case on the school bus, is our top priority.”

“We are sorry that this incident occurred, not only for the student involved, but also for the other students who were on the bus and witnessed the incident,” Principal Reagan Allegri wrote in a letter to parents.

‘Our team has regularly checked on the students who were on the bus yesterday afternoon to ensure that everything is going well here at school today.’

Zachary’s family said he is reluctant to resume trips on the school buses and is demanding stricter controls on those employed to drive them.

“It’s infuriating,” said Zachary’s father, Brad Carrel, “never should a child have the experience of being attacked by an adult.

“Every kid’s life is in their hands when they get on the bus, so just do more background checks because you want to know who your kids are riding with,” he added.

“You want them to be safe no matter what.”

Livingstone has been released from jail on a $500 bond pending his next court appearance.