A New Jersey school bus monitor charged in the death of a 6-year-old special needs student appeared before a judge on Tuesday, after prosecutors said that she could have saved the girl's life had she not been on her phone instead.
Amanda Davila sat quietly in a Somerville courthouse, charged with second-degree manslaughter and endangering the welfare of a child in connection with the death of 6-year-old Fajr Williams. The young girl's parents were in the courtroom as the case was detailed, and had to re-live the loss of their child one more time.
"Being there was harder than I expected, hearing them explain what happened to my 6-year-old was heartbreaking all over again," said Fajr's mother, Namjah Nash Williams.
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Her daughter had a rare chromosome disorder called Emanuel syndrome, which led to her being non-verbal and using a wheelchair. She was on her way to an extended school year program in Franklin Township around 9 a.m. on July 17 with the wheelchair she utilized secured in the back of the vehicle by the 27-year-old Davila.
But as the bus was on its route, a series of bumps in the road caused Fajr to slump in her wheelchair — causing the four-point harness which secured her to the chair to tighten around her neck, preventing her from breathing, the county prosecutor said.
As that was going on, Davila, of New Brunswick, was seated toward the front of the bus and was on her phone with earbuds in both ears, according to law enforcement. An investigation found that doing so was in violation of policies and procedures for school bus monitors.
The girl was found unresponsive, and officers who responded to the 911 call performed CPR. She was rushed to a nearby hospital's intensive care unit, where she was pronounced dead.
"She didn't have oxygen in her brain for almost 40 minutes. Do you understand the image that we got in our head of our daughter the last time that we seen her? What we had to go through?" her father, Wali Williams, said in the days after his daughter's death.
In court, Davila’s attorney called what happened "a tragedy," while arguing his client should be released. He said she not only feels terrible about what happened, but she’s never been in trouble before — and she even has a 2-year-old of her own with special needs.
"She’s 27 years old, never been in a fight before, never had any problems," said Michael Policastro.
Prosecutors point to video from onboard the bus which allegedly shows Davila sitting upfront, away from Fajr, with her cellphone out, headphones in, during a 14-minute stretch where Fajr lost consciousness.
"If she were in the back of the bus paying attention and observing the students as she was supposed to, this could’ve been prevented," prosecutors said.
"The judge saw [the video]…she did have ear buds in her ears and I did see her looking at her cellphone — but we don’t know at this point whether or not anything was coming out of it," said Policastro.
Citing bail reform laws, the judge ultimately decided Davila didn’t pose a great enough flight risk and agreed to her release ahead of her next court appearance in August. Fajr's mother had mixed feelings about the decision to release the bus monitor.
"I don’t know how to feel about her release. I was prepared for her release, I thought I was. As long as they are following the law, I don't have any choice but to accept it," said Williams.
As part of her release, Davila was instructed to not have any contact with school-age children, the school or the victim's family. She is next scheduled to appear in court on Aug. 28.
The bus is owned by Montauk Transit Services in Somerset, where the girl went to the Claremont school four days a week. Attempts to reach both the bus company and the school were unsuccessful.
An investigation into the incident is ongoing. Anyone with information regarding what happened is asked to contact the Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office Major Crimes Unit at (908) 231-7100 or the Franklin Township Police Department at (732) 873-5533.
