Deaf, blind child left unattended on city bus

From: Montgomery Advertiser, AL - Apr 21, 2005

By Kirsten J. Barnes
Montgomery Advertiser

A 13-year-old child with cerebral palsy, who is deaf, blind and mute, was left unattended on a locked bus Wednesday afternoon, his mother said.

Christian Moore attends an afterschool program at the Therapeutic Recreation Center on Augusta Street, run by the City of Montgomery Parks & Recreation. On Wednesdays, the group attends a field trip using Parks & Recreation buses.

"My son was found alone, sitting in the bus, about 6:20 that evening. He can't speak. They didn't even miss him," said Thelma Richardson. "When I got there no one even saw him. All the teachers said no one saw him from 2:30 until I got there."

The center's director Fredrick Thomas, confirmed that the incident did happen. "Basically it's under review right now. But we're in the process of trying to identify exactly why the child was left and we're in the process of putting policies in place to make sure this does not happen again"

Copyright © 1997- 2005 The Advertiser Co.