Charge of Negligent Homicide for Boy, 8, in School Bus Death

[WhiteTara]

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/05/24/nyregion/24bus.html?_r=1&oref=slogin
An 8-year-old boy who climbed into a parked school bus, released the emergency brake and sent 26,000 pounds of steel rolling through Crown Heights, Brooklyn, on Monday was charged yesterday with criminally negligent homicide in the death of Amber Sadiq, 8, who was crushed between the bus's right undercarriage and a street pole.

The boy, Tafari James, had been suspended from second grade on Friday for climbing onto another unattended bus, officials said yesterday in Family Court in Downtown Brooklyn.

Investigators said it was unclear whether he released the brake on Monday intentionally. Witnesses saw him board the bus alone, on Nostrand Avenue near Crown Street, around 3:15 p.m. He rode the bus as it gathered speed down a slight incline and jump off as it thudded to a halt after traveling 100 feet, the police said.
snip
At the hearing yesterday, Judge McLeod ordered a mental health examination for Tafari, saying that he "has a troubled life right now."

When it was over, Tafari asked a court officer how old the judge was and what her hammer was used for. He said he wanted to go home.

more...

[MadMaddie]

1. So my question is ..why was the bus unlocked and why

was a child unsupervised around the buses...it sounds like their are some other issues going on there...the child doesn't know what he did..Negligent Homicide?

[proud patriot]

9. exactly !

I work with children at a public school
we are responsible for the child until we put
them on the bus . we are not to leave the child
alone on the bus and the bus driver is not to
leave children unattended .

I fault the bus driver for leaving an unlocked
bus unattended .

[Nevernose]

11. In most states the legal age of culpability is seven

But still. How are you seriously going to prosecute a second-grader for negligent homicide?

[progressivebydesign]

17. The emergency exit is where he entered.. and it has to stay unlocked

That's the law. Another article explained that. And.. I'm not quite understanding the question about why a kid is around a school bus... they park them in front of schools, kids go to schools.. does that strike you as unusual? Kids near school busses?

[LeighAnn]

25. You a bus driver?

Just wondering, in answer to your question, it does strike me as unusual that a child at school would be unattended around an unattended bus... when I was 8 my teacher knew where I was every second of every day, and we weren't allowed to meander around areas where there were parked vehicles.

[TheMadMonk]

26. And if it had been an adult who'd done this....

...His lawyer would already be filing a counter-suit on the basis the bus should have been better secured.

[GoddessOfGuinness]

29. More like "Negligent Supervision of a Child"

if you ask me.

[Jed Dilligan]

2. What about the driver and the school district

Aren't they more responsible than the kid? Aren't adults who are paid to care for kids in charge of stopping this kind of predictable mischief?

[progressivebydesign]

19. Why should the district and driver be at fault? Makes no sense.

The kid knew that the emergency exit is unlocked (By law has to be unlocked), and he entered (AFTER being suspended a few days before for getting into another bus). Kids are around busses all day long at school.. the driver should not be held liable, nor should the district. The kid got into the bus, after going thru a suspension for doing almost the same thing a few days before.

I think the charge is really harsh. The kid is really messed up, apparently, to do this... Negligent homicide is basically saying that the person did something really negligent and it caused a death, but I believe it means that no intent to cause a death was present. Perhaps the charge is apropos because obviously suspending the kid for this did nothing... he'll probably get a suspended sentence, and it wont' go on his permanent record. Perhaps this will help the kid get some help, that he obviously needs.

[JI7]

3. at 8 years , shouldn't there be an adult to watch what they are doing

[Redstone]

5. Like, maybe, his PARENTS?

Redstone

[Miss Chybil]

16. Self delete. nt

[uppityperson]

20. "Inadequate guardianship" Absent 40 times, late 14

Mr.Redstone, I was going to ask you to please not jump on the parents, because sometimes we have to work or cannot always be monitoring our children, but after reading the whole story, under watch of gramma who was sleeping, the poor kid needs counseling for the whole thing. Poor kids, both of them.

[1932]

4. This is going to make a lot of 8-year-olds think twice next time they have

a criminal impulse.

(/sarcasm)

[Nevernose]

13. Lots of evil laughter (n/t)

n/t

[Erika]

6. An 8 year old can now be a criminal?

This country has gone to hell with one in every 136 citizens in prison. Maybe we should quit building schools and hospitals, and instead build prisons?

I can remember my brother releasing the emergency brake at about the same age. He was a year older than I was at the time.

The folks had left us in the car for a few minutes while they were dropping off some items with a friend. The car was parked on a hillway and we crashed into a car parked about 15 feet downhill from us.

Thank goodness no one was really hurt. He was just goofing around with "things".

[progressivebydesign]

21. I think it's because this kid was warned before and suspended for it.

Perhaps they have reached their limit of suspensions and warnings for him. Perhaps they are trying to do something before he kills someone else. I thought the charge was harsh, but then I read that he was suspended and reprimanded for the same thing (sans the emergency brake, luckily they caught him in the bus right away last time), and he went out and did the SAME thing resulting in a little girl's death.

[JI7]

7. is this even allowed ?

does the legal system allow for someone so young to be charged as a criminal ?

[don954]

10. i know in Texas they cant, i think 10 is the cut-off

the responsible party is held accountable for a minor child below that age. in this case it would be the school.

[pnwmom]

8. I'm sorry. ARE THEY NUTS????? Are we going to be charging 5 yr olds next?

[Nevernose]

12. We could charge their parents.

See my post 11, above. It would, of course, be totally insane, but we could do it.

[Miss Chybil]

15. Self- delete. nt

[1932]

18. What are you going to charge them for?

[Miss Chybil]

14. Jesus Christ. Why was a child able to get into a bus, alone?

Absolutely tragic for everybody involved.

[progressivebydesign]

22. because his grandma was asleep, the bus is unlocked by law..

and he has a thing for getting into buses, apparently, as he was suspended for it from school the week before. Sounds like they're trying to make a point with the poor kid.. because obviously the intervention the week before did not a bit of good with him. Hope he gets the help he needs before he graduates to something even worse.

[pinerow]

30. A parked bus with an unlocked

emergency exit, just waiting to be stolen...what lunacy is that...???...makes no sense...law or no law...:wtf:

[ProudDad]

23. Another reason to LOATH the Criminally-Unjust system

GOD!!!!

Don't help the poor kid, don't help his family. Fuck 'em, right???

GOD DAMN this sick society, this SICK COUNTRY that's so quick to lock anyone up but won't do SHIT to help anyone who needs it.

FUCK THIS PLACE!!!

on edit: from the article:

"Tafari was taken into the custody of the Department of Juvenile Justice, said Scott Trent, a department spokesman. All juveniles who are arrested undergo medical screening and admissions procedures in the Bronx. Children age 7 to 9 are separated in an environment similar to a group home, without the security features typical of a jail."

You mean they send 10 year olds to some place that HAS "the security features typical of a jail???!!"

What's wrong with this (sick) picture....

I think this country hates and fears its children...

[MindPilot]

24. There is a real easy technical solution to the problem

This kind of thing happens way too frequently. I believe all vehicles, especially those which have a particular attraction to kids like school busses, mail trucks, etc should have an interlock device on the park brake. It could be as simple as being able to snap a padlock on the brake lever that would prevent the release button from being depressed to something as elaborate as the transmission/brake interlock on passenger cars.

You have to think prevention; you can't stop kids from being kids.

On edit: I think about that every time I'm waiting behind a school bus and the driver is outside in the crosswalk holding up her stop sign. A bus load of bored kids, driver away and distracted, engine running...

[warrens]

28. Attractive nuisance law

They should make it impossible to get IN for a non-adult, and easy to get out. That should solve the problem. The idea that an 8 year old could foresee the consequences of his action is just too silly to be believed. Anyone who has ever had a kid knows that they will do absolutely ridiculous things because, frankly, they don't know any better.

[JerseygirlCT]

27. How can this be?

Seriously. If the bus was unattended, is that the child's fault? If he sees an interesting lever and plays with it, is he really to blame?

This is ridiculous.