Metro

$ympathy for ‘taunt’ bus lady

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Donations to a vacation fund for an upstate bus monitor soared to more than $427,000 yesterday after a video of her being taunted to tears by foul-mouthed 12- and 13-year-olds went viral on the Internet.

A sympathizer set up the online fund for Karen Klein after the 10-minute video — taken by one of the bullies — was viewed more than 1.6 million times on YouTube and touched off an international avalanche of outrage.

The video shows Klein, a 68-year-old widow and grandmother of eight, breaking into tears in a suburb of Rochester as seventh-graders call her fat and ugly and demand her address so they can go to her home to rob and rape her.

But what was particularly painful was a boy’s saying, “You’re so ugly, your kids should kill themselves.”

“I don’t think they knew my son had,” she told WROC-TV. Klein’s eldest son took his own life 10 years ago.

Police said the parents of four of the boys were cooperating with an investigation of the vicious verbal attack, which occurred Monday.

But their conduct didn’t rise to the level of a crime, according to a preliminary investigation, said Greece, NY, Police Capt. Steve Chatterton.

The online fund was set up Wednesday with the message that she “doesn’t earn nearly enough” to deal with this kind of bullying. Klein is paid $15,506 a year.

The goal was to raise $5,000 in 30 days, but by early today it had reached $427,857, funded by 20,000 donors.

Two of the kids and two parents of the bullies, apologized in statements issued by the police to “Anderson Cooper 360” yesterday.

“I am so sorry for the way I treated you,” one of the kids, Josh, said. “When I saw the video I was disgusted and could not believe I did that. I am sorry for being so mean and I will never treat anyone this way again.”

“I feel really bad about what I did. I wish I had never done those things,” another kid Wesley added. “If that had happened to someone in my family, like my mother or grandmother, I would be really mad at the people who did that to them.”

“I cannot even tell you how badly I feel. I am deeply sorry for what my son did,” Wesley’s mom said. I wish there was some way to make it up to you. I would like it if he could do some work for you or help you in some way. I’m sure that you don’t want him anywhere near you or your property and I don’t blame you. I am embarrassed, angry and sad about the awful way he treated you. I am truly sorry.”

“We apologize, from the bottom of our hearts on what happened,” the father of another bully, Luis, said. “We wish this will never happen again, to nobody and from nobody. Like Luis said, if your friend says to bully somebody, please don’t do it….A couple of people have already died because of this. We apologize to Ms. Klein. We’re deeply sorry.”