A school bus driver has been sacked after a boy became trapped in the doors of the bus and was dragged down a road in Melbourne.

Nathaniel, 12, was on his way to school in the city’s south-east on March 16 when his bag and right arm got caught in the automatic bus doors.

Terrifying CCTV footage shows he was dragged for about 350m down the street before the bus driver noticed, with Nathaniel now traumatised by the ordeal, according to his mum Grace.

‘As a child, you don’t really realise the seriousness of it, but as a parent and as a mum, I know how dangerous it was. And you know, he could have died,’ Grace told the Today show on Monday.

‘His whole body was outside the door and the bus driver didn’t check his mirrors and then just took off with him on the outside.’

The Daily Mail now understands the driver, who has not been identified, was sacked by the Ventura Bus Lines company following an investigation into the incident.

Grace said Nathaniel was ‘too stunned’ to react at first, and then sprung into action when the bus started moving off, lifting his legs to keep them off the ground.

‘Honestly, if he was a taller student or a weaker student, there was no way that he would be able to hang on, you know, for the distance on the side of a moving bus at that speed,’ she said.

Footage has emerged of the terrifying moment a young boy became trapped in the doors of a school bus before being dragged down the road in Melbourne
+3
View gallery

 Footage has emerged of the terrifying moment a young boy became trapped in the doors of a school bus before being dragged down the road in Melbourne

Nathaniel's mother Grace said he has been traumatised by the incident
+3
View gallery

Nathaniel’s mother Grace said he has been traumatised by the incident

Grace said the only reason her son was freed was because the driver had to stop at the next bus stop.

Following an investigation, Ventura passed the school bus as roadworthy and has put the vehicle back on the road.

‘The back door only has one sensor in the middle of the door, and Nathaniel was caught under the sensor, so it didn’t trigger any, you know, alarms or anything,’ Grace explained.

‘However, the door wasn’t fully closed. You know, his arm was caught in it. You would think that that would have been a safety feature of the bus to at least, you know, have another alarm for that.’

Grace said Nathaniel is seeking counselling support as he is experiencing anxiety and the effects of trauma.

‘He’s no longer able to catch the bus by himself. He gets panic attacks when he sees a bus of a similar, you know, advertisement,’ Grace said.

A Ventura spokesperson told the Daily Mail the company will ‘enhance’ their driver training programs to ensure a similar incident doesn’t occur again.

‘This is a very distressing incident, and we will continue to support the passenger and family at this time,’ the spokesperson said.

‘The safety of our passengers is our priority. We have emphasised our safety protocols with all drivers and will implement a review to enhance driver training programs.’