The mother says that the school bus driver sat on and struck her 6-year-old son with autism. Now, she has filed a lawsuit against the former bus driver and a school district employee. The mom also said that she was in disbelief that someone could do these things to a child, especially a child with special needs that could not communicate or defend themselves. The mother said that no one called her and found out about the assault after a student-recorded video of it surfaced on social media.
The mother from Michigan, Talysha Oldham, is now suing the ABC Student Transportation, the former bus driver and a school district employee. The mother claims that the bus driver sat on and struck her 6-year-old son Adriel last December.
During an interview with FOX2, Talysha Oldham reportedly said: “I saw these things on the video and my heart just dropped. And I was in disbelief that someone could do these things to a child, especially a child with special needs that could not communicate or defend themselves. Or, let somebody know something was going on with him.
Even if he was hard to restrain or was having a meltdown because of his autism they could’ve stopped the bus. They could’ve pulled the bus over, they could’ve called dispatch, they could’ve called me. I would have stopped whatever I was doing, to come get my child.”
According to the lawsuit, the mother said that no one called her. Oldham reportedly found out about the assault after a student-recorded video of it surfaced on social media.
The mother also said that the only other adult on the bus, a DPSCD employee, stood by and did nothing as the assault happened.
Talysha Oldham also told FOX2: “We as a society have gotten awfully upset at Will Smith and his behavior at striking a man, a comedian, Mr. Rock, who arguably could defend himself. We’re talking about a child, where is the outrage. Where is the concern.”
The family’s attorney, Harolyn Beverly, said that the 6-year-old boy was diagnosed with a mild case of traumatic brain injury after the incident.
Harolyn Beverly reportedly said: “I talked with three independent therapists, all who have worked very closely with him. They said for the first few weeks after this, he was mimicking the behavior that he went through on the bus: Covering his head up; dropping down on the floor; like they threw him; and making the same exact motions, movements and noises that you hear in this video.”
The school district released the following statement:
“On December 3, 2021, the District was made aware of a bus incident through a video circulated on social media. Upon review, both the bus driver (employee of the bus company) and attendant (district employee) were immediately removed from servicing DPSCD students and schools pending an investigation regarding the incident.
A robo call was sent home alerting families of the incident and the action taken by the District. The investigation resulted in the district employee cleared of any wrongdoing, the termination of the bus driver by the bus company and a District recommendation made to the County’s prosecutor’s office to press criminal charges.
The parent was notified and provided an opportunity to view the video, however, did not respond to the District’s messages. The District is cooperating with the ongoing investigation. No charges have been filed.”
According to the lawsuit, the school district never disclosed the names of the two women in question. The mother, who is working as a psychologist and substitute teacher, took her 6-year-old son out of the school and is now homeschooling. This story will be updated as new information become available.