From the AP, New York Daily News, New York Times, Newsday,  CNN:

Edwin Rivera, a 22-year-old man with cerebral palsy and an intellectual disability, was treated for hypothermia after being left strapped into a school bus in Brooklyn in freezing temperatures for more than 17 hours over New Year’s Eve.

The bus matron, Linda Hockaday, 51, was fired Thursday and charged with reckless endangerment, a felony that carries a maximum sentence of seven years. Prosecutors allege in the complaint that Hockaday knew Rivera was still on the bus but did not tell the driver. She didn’t want to retrace the bus route and take Rivera home because she had to get to an appointment, according to the complaint.

Rivera was supposed to be dropped off at his home Wednesday afternoon after attending a special needs day program. His parents reported him missing about 9:30 pm Wednesday night, and police officers found him at 10:30 am strapped in his seat at the bus depot on Thursday morning. Temperatures ranged between 15 and 30 degrees during the night.

See also:

Driver suspended after disabled man left on Fairhaven bus – [New Bedford, MA] Standard-Times

This entry was posted on Saturday, January 3rd, 2009 at 8:44 am and is filed under cerebral palsy, criminal justice, education, intellectual/developmental disabilities, transportation. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.