Pennsylvania mom wants justice after her 7-year-old son with Down Syndrome fell off the school bus and suffered several injuries.
The incident happened on June 5, when Michael Perrin, the youngest son of Elizabeth Aguero, 52, was on his way to school, Resica Elementary School in East Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania on the school bus. He must have been on the bus for about 45 minutes before the family got a call from the school officials to come and get the boy.
Aguero told PEOPLE, “They told me there was an incident and that my son was bleeding. I needed to get there immediately and [they asked], 'Should [we] call an ambulance?' It's hard to describe. It was horrible. It was hard to see my baby covered in blood."
On rushing to the hospital, she saw her boy crying in pain. The child had a blackened eye and several significant red scratches covering most of his face. Two nurses were attending to him, but none could give a clear account of how the incident happened.
Upon taking Perrin to St. Luke’s Hospital’s Monroe Campus, doctors determined that along with the swollen, leaking eye, the boy had two fractures.
“Nobody wants to see their child hurt. There was no reason for my son to fall on his head,” she told PEOPLE through tears. “It’s hard. They said they don’t know exactly what happened. The school wouldn’t allow me to see the [surveillance video].”
To understand how the child could get hurt so badly, Aguero urged the school officials to show her the footage, but she was refused. So, she had to file a police report with Pennsylvania State Police.
Later the footage obtained by the police from the school officials verified that the boy fell. However, Aguero is still disturbed, and she can't understand how a child with special needs be not given distinctive care and attention. She is clueless as to what the teachers on the bus where doing when the incident took place!
Through her tears, she says, “I don’t want this to happen to another kid. Another kid may not survive this” She wants justice for her child who has been into trauma post the event, “I want better training. Michael is not the first, but I want him to be the last. No one should have immunity against child negligence. That was total negligence. Michael is a special needs child. I want justice.”
Michael’s brother Angel Rivera shared this event on social media to let the world know how his little brother’s face and eyes were severely hurt.
“My little brother attends Resica Elementary and has Down syndrome, he was injured at school,” Rivera wrote.
The family is trying their best to make the kid happy and to ensure him a healthy, secure life.