Parents sue MCPS after son is hit by school bus

Two Montgomery County parents are suing the county’s school system after their son was left at the wrong bus stop twice and seriously injured in a bus accident. The final straw for Bertha Forgwei and Alain Douliemo was when they saw the injuries: the unnamed boy’s legs and toes were completely crushed.

As a kindergartener, the boy attended Brookhaven Elementary School in Silver Spring. In September 2013, however, the five-year-old was placed on the wrong bus during afternoon dismissal and was subsequently dropped off five miles away from his home. Forgwei was eventually able to find her child after multiple phone calls with the school’s principal and receptionist. A civil lawsuit filed in the Montgomery County Circuit Court claims that the incident left the boy “emotionally scarred.”

Two years later, in October 2015, the young child was dropped off at the wrong bus stop, along Bel Pre Road in Aspen Hill. The boy immediately became “anxious and scared,” sprinting after the bus in an attempt to remedy the mistake. Unfortunately, he tripped and was subsequently run over.

“It’s a terrifying idea for any parent,” attorney Gary Gerstenfield said. “We’re not dropping off Amazon packages. We’re talking about children, small children and we want to make sure they are being safely dropped off.”

A female bystander was able to notify the driver moments before the rear tires would have crushed the boy’s upper body.

“She shouted, ‘Stop, stop you hit a child!’ The back wheels were ready to crush him, the back wheels stopped right here, the driver didn’t even notice that he’d hit anything,” Forgwei said.

“We are very fortunate to be in a county that has an amazing average response time for ambulance calls, which is our primary tool for dealing with medical emergencies,” Director Todd Watkins of the MCPS Department of Transportation said. While all school-based security staff train in January and August and receive yearly first aid/CPR/AED training, public school bus operators and attendants are only required basic first aid training every other year. While CPR and AED training is also provided, it is optional.

The injures of the multi-ton impact left the boy in white and blue casts for weeks. Upon notification of the accident, paramedics transferred the child to the Children’s National Medical Center in Northwest to receive emergency surgery for his knees, legs, and toes. The impact could be viewed from the multiple surveillance cameras on the school bus.

Watkins clarifies that “Approximately 80% of our 1322 school buses are equipped with video cameras at this point, but we hope to have 100% within the next two years.” These cameras undergo regular preventive maintenance several times a year but are otherwise checked in the event of a complaint or accident. Additionally, all MCPS buses are equipped with a two-way radio system, connecting the bus not only to their depot dispatcher, but also to other buses from the same bus depot. Emergency protocol requires that the bus operator calls the dispatch to send for the police, ambulances, or whatever else they need.

The accident greatly affected the family, and Forgwei and Douliemo were forced to quit their jobs to care for their child. One of the biggest struggles, however, involved carrying the boy up and down their three story apartment building, which had no elevator.

“It’s something that nobody should go through. I had nightmares over-and-over for this incident, as I say, now I just block it. I‘m just thankful to God because only God placed the girl there to stop the bus from doing worse,” Forgwei said.

Even with years of physical therapy, the boy still retains a limp and cannot stand on his tippy toes. These injuries have restricted the child from participating in competitive basketball, his favorite sport. In the future, the youngster is likely to need more surgeries and treatment.

The civil lawsuit seeks $100,00 for damages, Maryland’s statutory cap as made in 2015. The trial date has yet to be set.

Article by MoCo Student staff writer Alice Zhu of Richard Montgomery High School

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