Autistic Teen's Family Files Suit Against Dade School Board
CBSMiami (CBSMiami) - The family of an 18-year old autistic North Miami teen who died after having a seizure on a county school bus has filed a negligence suit against the School Board.
North Miami High student Kenneth Pierre-Louis, who was severely autistic and had a known history of seizures, suffered a seizure and a 'cardiac event' on the bus on September 12th, 2012.
A Miami-Dade School Board Police report on the incident states that the driver and bus aide told officers they had just pulled up in front of Pierre-Louis residence when he had the seizure, according to the family's attorney Gregg Schwartz.
When paramedics arrived they reportedly found Pierre-Louis, 18, wedged between two seats in the rear of the school bus, his eyes were fixed and dilated and he was unconscious.
Schwartz claims that none of the four school employees on the bus attempted to perform any life saving measures nor did they call 911 in a timely fashion. He said several witnesses told Miami-Dade Fire Rescue that Pierre-Louis suffered the seizure approximately 15 minutes before Miami-Dade Fire Rescue arrived and approximately 10 minutes before he suffered a cardiac event.
Miami-Dade Fire Rescue arrived approximately 3-4 minutes after they were dispatched, said Schwartz. Pierre-Louis was taken to North Shore Medical Center where he was pronounced dead.
According to Pierre-Louis' Dominique Jean the bus was very late arriving home from school on the day of his death. Schwartz said there has been no explanation as to why the bus arrived so late on the day Pierre Louis suffered the seizure.
Medical records indicate that Kenneth Pierre-Louis physically attacked the bus driver in the days or weeks before the incident, according to Schwartz.
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