SOMERVILLE, N.J. (1010 WINS) — A New Jersey school bus aide was sentenced on Friday to three years after being convicted of child endangerment in the death of a 6-year-old girl with special needs.
Amanda Davila, 28, had been found not guilty to charges of aggravated and reckless manslaughter.
Davila was sitting near the front of the bus when it hit bumps on the road which caused Farj Williams to slump in her wheelchair, and the 4-point harness that secured her to her chair tightened around her neck, restricting her airway, according to the Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office.
Davila, who was supposed to be monitoring the child, was wearing ear buds and on her phone as Williams got strangled by the harness on her wheelchair on July 2023, prosecutors said. She was found unresponsive when she arrived at Claremont Elementary School in Franklin Park.
Williams was transported to a hospital but was pronounced dead shortly after.
Williams was born with Emanuel syndrome, a rare chromosome disorder which left her unable to speak or walk but still able to make sounds. She was attending classes as part of an extended school year.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.