SALEM, MASS. (WHDH) - A teenager was rushed to the hospital last Tuesday after her wheelchair tipped over onboard the school van. Now, her mom is demanding more from school officials.
Alisha Santiago does not communicate in the same way most kids do. The 17-year-old has a rare disease that leaves her unable to walk or talk and left her vulnerable on the bus ride to Salem High School.
Her mom, Jessica Jimenez, says her daughter’s wheelchair was not properly secured despite the teenager’s best attempts to alert the bus aide and the chair flipped over.
“She tried to catch attention from the aide the one that strapped her chair and no one paid attention,” Jimenez said.
Alisha’s head was split open in the fall and she was rushed to the hospital.
“When I got to the hospital I wasn’t prepared with what happened,” Jimenez said. “What I saw, she was bleeding by herself, she was crying.”
Alisha was treated and released but, she is now terrified of the school bus. Even the mention of it makes her physically uncomfortable.
For now, there is no way for Alisha to get to school because the family’s wheelchair-accessible car is in the shop.
A spokesperson for Salem Public Schools said an investigation revealed that Alisha was not strapped in correctly and that staff will be retrained to ensure this does not happen again.
“They were not prepared for these types of accidents,” said Jimenez. ‘And I hope this is a lesson for them that they need to be prepared.”
Jimenez said she fears staffing shortages on school buses played a role in the incident.
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