An unidentified man entered a Niles school bus and began yelling at students on Tuesday, prompting an investigation into the incident by school officials.

Supt. Michael Lindley said the incident occurred on a bus carrying approximately 40 Oak Manor Sixth Grade Center students.

The bus was on US-933 heading back to Niles from a field trip when it was passed by a silver Ford pick-up truck just north of Angela Boulevard in South Bend, Indiana. The pick-up truck, with its hazard lights on, pulled in front of the bus and came to a stop, causing the bus to stop as well.

The driver of the pick-up truck and its passenger were both wearing yellow safety vests and, according to Lindley, the bus driver mistakenly believed that they worked for the city of South Bend.

One of the men exited the truck, came to the bus and motioned for the bus driver to open the door.

“She assumed they would say something was wrong with the bus,” Lindley said.

When the bus driver opened the door, the man entered and began yelling at the students, saying that one of them had flipped him off and that he wanted to know whom it was.

When none of the boys responded, the man exited the bus, returned to his vehicle and left.

Lindley said the man had no physical contact with the bus driver or any of the students and left on his own. Lindley also said the man was yelling from just inside the door of the bus on one of the first steps.

Lindley said it was very inappropriate for a bus driver to let someone on the bus without knowing the person’s credentials.

“It is an incident that shouldn’t have happened because we don’t open doors,” he said. “Who knows what that person could have done?”

Niles Community Schools contracts with First Student for bus services and it was a First Student bus that was transporting students during the incident.

Lindley said First Student’s Transportation Director Tom Brechenser has assured him that something like this would never happen again.

In a letter to parents, Brechenser said First Student has reviewed and emphasized the importance of not opening the door for anyone other than proven law enforcement, emergency medical personal, or known school authorities.

“Any situation that leads into an incident such as this needs to be communicated to dispatch and handled through the appropriate authorities,” he wrote. “Due to the uniqueness of this situation we are going to use this incident as a training experience at our upcoming safety meeting for all drivers of First Student.”

Lindley said he did not know if any disciplinary action was taken against the bus driver.

After the incident, Lindley said Oak Manor Principal Molly Brawley met with the students to talk about what happened.

The bus driver was unable to get the name of the person who entered the bus or the license plate of the vehicle in which he was riding.

“If they had I’d be calling the police and finding out more,” Lindley said.