A school bus monitor has been charged with manslaughter in the death of a 6-year-old girl with special needs who was strangled by her wheelchair harness while the bus monitor was allegedly on her phone.
Amanda Davila (Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office)
Amanda Davila, 27, of New Brunswick, was arrested and charged days after the deadly incident, Somerset County Prosecutor John McDonald’s office said.
6-year-old special needs girl tragically dies
The little girl, Faja Williams, was buckled in at the back of the bus by Davila, for the ride to an extended school year program in Franklin Township, the Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office said.
During the trip, Davila was seated near the front of the vehicle “and was utilizing a cellular telephone while wearing ear bud headphone devices in both ears,” officials said.
The monitor “was in violation of policies and procedures,” they added.
Authorities say the bus hit a series of bumps on the road, causing Williams to slump in her wheelchair. The four-point harness that secured her to the chair ended up blocking her airway.
Upon responding to the scence, officers administered CPR to the 6-year-old. Williams transported to a local hospital where she was pronounced dead.
She did not deserve this
“She did not deserve this, to be taken away from us in such a way that had nothing to do with her condition,” Faja’s devastated mom Namjah Nash told WABC.
6-year-old special needs girl tragically had a rare disease
Williams was diagnosed with a rare chromosome disability called Emanuel Syndrome called when she was 3 months old.
“My daughter, she can’t speak, she’s helpless, she can’t even take the harness off, she can’t take the seat belt off, the only thing she can do is move her arms,” her father Wali Williams told WABC.
The girl was nonverbal but made sounds. No one saw her slumped in her wheelchair during the ride.
Davila was arrested, Wednesday July 19, and taken to the Somerset County Jail.
Anyone with information is asked to call the Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office Major Crimes Unit at 908-231-7100 or the Franklin Township Police Department at 732-873-5533 or via the STOPit app.
