A wheelchair-bound teenager was thrown to the floor of a school bus. The seconds tick fast, growing into minutes before anyone comes to her aid.
It's shocking video that will make you wonder how something like this can happen. The teen was left unattended and unrestrained on a Fulton County school bus.
When the mother of the 17-year-old Creekside High School student sent the video to CBS46, we didn't know what to expect. After watching it, it was clear that something went terribly wrong on the bus.
Eric Jacobson, the head of the Georgia Council on Developmental Disabilities, was shocked to see 17-year-old Jonay Owens being thrown to the school bus floor.
It happened after the bus made a turn and her wheelchair flipped on its side, pinning her beneath it.
In the video, sent by Jonay's mother, minutes tick away before she is noticed.
Unable to speak or walk, she lay there helplessly for 3 minutes and 35 seconds until the bus stops in front of her home.
That's when the bus driver and bus aide noticed she was bleeding, wiped her head, then wheeled her off the bus, telling the caregiver there was "a minor incident."
"Angry and baffled are the two words I think I should use," says Jacobson.
Jonay's mother is suing the Fulton County School District, claiming the force of impact caused serious injury to her entire body, including, but not limited to her neck, back, shoulders and brain.
"Obviously somebody made a mistake to begin with in letting that school bus take off if she's not strapped in," says Jacobson.
The suit also states the bus driver was negligent by not making sure Jonay was properly strapped into her seat, and the driver failed to make sure the locks on the floor were properly locked around the wheelchair tires.
