A school bus beat down that was caught on video has now gone viral.
It happened in Pasco County.
Mitchell High School sophomore Chase Cristia said she barley knows the girl who attacked her or the girl behind the camera. But she said they threatened her Friday afternoon at lunch when she stuck up for a friend they were picking on.
"I told them we're in 10th grade. You should really be mature about this," said Chase. "And they were not. They told me to wait until later on the bus."
Sixteen-year-old Chase said she reported the threat to her assistant principal, but was allowed to get on the bus anyway.
Detectives with the Pasco County Sheriff's Office say while Chase was sitting in the back of the bus, a 17-year-old girl grabbed her and punched her in the back of the head and neck at least 10 times. All the while, they say a 16-year-old girl video recorded the attack with her cell phone and later posted it on Facebook.
We spoke with school officials and are told the assistant principal followed protocol. Based on what Chase told her at the time, she determined there was no imminent threat. Chase was then given the option to have her mom pick her up or go home on the bus. In the end, Chase decided to take the bus. The assistant principal advised her to alert the bus driver when she got on and sit close to the front. Chase did neither and was attacked just minutes from her Odessa home.
"It was terrible," Chase said of the fight. "It was pretty horrific."
Chase's mother Tracey Cristia said she did receive a call from Chase before she got on the bus to go home and thought the bus driver would look out for her daughter. But Chase said he didn't even get out of his seat, even when her mother tried to talk to him when she got off.
"I actually stepped up onto the bus to speak with the bus driver," Tracey says. "And I remember at least three times that he yelled at me, get off the bus."
That was on Friday. The district tells us the driver didn't fill out the paper work to report the fight until Monday. By Tuesday, the two girls were arrested and charged. The girl who hit Chase now faces simple battery. The other girl is charged for recording it.
As for the bus driver, he is still on the job. The school district tells us they are investigating his conduct internally but at this time, it appears he followed protocol. We are told the fight lasted only 10 seconds, and was over before the bus driver could even pull over. The district says it is policy to continue on with dropping the other students home once a situation calms down.
But Tracey said the school should've called her to tell her about the threat. And she said the bus driver should've done more to help.
"I feel like a couple people dropped the ball with this," Tracey said. "I very strongly feel that they should've let me know my daughter had been threatened. Had I known that, she wouldn't have been on that bus that day."