TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — A Hillsborough County school bus driver is in jail on an aggravated child abuse charge for using her foot to push an 8-year-old girl off the bus.

Police say 40-year-old Stephanie Wilkerson was arrested Thursday and is being held without bail. It wasn’t immediately known if she has an attorney.

According to police, Wilkerson was driving special-needs children to school in Tampa on Sept. 28 when the girl wanted to get off the bus. She was told to wait her turn, but police say the girl slapped and pushed the driver. As the girl walked off the bus, she stopped on the steps and that’s when police say Wilkerson pushed her with her foot.

The student fell and fractured her ankle. School officials say Wilkerson was hired in Aug. 2008.

Copyright 2012 The Associated Press.