NJ child who died on school bus violently struggled unnoticed: cops

Sep 21, 2023

In the last minutes of her life, 6-year-old Fajr Williams flailed her arms and legs, shrieked or gasped twice and kicked the window of her school bus.

But Amanda Davila, the school bus aide, didn’t seem to notice the non-verbal child’s desperate attempts to grab her attention as she struggled to stay alive.

That’s the grim account, detailed in court documents, of the child’s last minutes as she was strapped into her wheelchair fastened to the bus floor as a safety harness tightened around her neck and eventually strangled her.

And all that time, a probable cause affidavit says, Davila “appeared to be occupied on her cell phone during this struggle with her back to (Fajr) and did not appear to hear or see (Fajr) as she went unconscious.”

Davila, 27, of New Brunswick, is scheduled to make her first appearance in Superior Court on Tuesday on charges of manslaughter and endangering the welfare of a child in the tragic incident that claimed the 6-year-old's life on July 17

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The affidavit says that Davila, whose job was to care for Fajr, a nonverbal child with disabilities, and make sure she safely arrived at her extended school year program in Franklin, didn't check on Fajr for at least 20 minutes as she became unconscious when the harness tightened around her neck.

"(The school bus aide) appeared to be occupied on her cell phone during this struggle with her back to (Fajr) and did not appear to hear or see (Fajr) as she went unconscious at 8:48:47 a.m.,” according to the affidavit.

Fajr later died at the hospital.

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Franklin police responded around 9:04 a.m. July 17 to Claremont Elementary School in Franklin Park after receiving a 911 call about an unresponsive child.

Arriving officers administered CPR to Fajr before she was taken to Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital in New Brunswick where she remained unresponsive in the Children's Intensive Care Unit. She was later pronounced dead.

The chain of tragic events began when a school bus owned by Montauk Transit picked up Fajr near her home in Franklin Park around 8:29 a.m. that morning, according to the affidavit.

There are audio and video recordings of the events on the bus but the Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office denied a public records request to release them, citing the ongoing criminal investigation.

Fajr was brought onto the bus by a handicap-accessible hydraulic lift. Davila, the aide, wheeled her into the rear driver-side section of the bus which had been cleared of standard bus seats for wheelchair access, and secured the child's wheelchair to the ground hook system, according to the affidavit.

"In the bus video, the child is observed strapped into a 4-point chest harness which appeared to be secured to the wheelchair,” the affidavit says. “The harness straps went over both shoulders and under both arms. There did not appear to be any other safety restraints utilized. It was later determined that there was a lap belt and ankle restraints available on the wheelchair.”

Once Fajr was secured, Davila sat in the first seat behind the driver with her back to the rear of the bus and was observed using a cellphone with earbud headphones in each ear, according to the affidavit.

“(Davila) did not appear to be make visual contact with (Fajr) from 8:32:30 a.m. until 8:42:30 a.m. when another student was received onto the bus. (Davila) was observed possibly glancing in (Fajr’s) direction at this time," the affidavit says.

At 8:42 a.m., when the final of three students was secured on the bus, Davila appeared to be back on her cellphone, the affidavit says.

At 8:44:21 a.m., a series of bumps in the road appeared to make (Fajr’s) body slump in the seat which made the 4-point harness become tight around her neck, and she appeared to be moving her mouth at that point, according to the affidavit.

The two other children on the bus were in two seats in front of an empty seat directly next to Fajr, so no one had a direct line of sight to Fajr, who at 8:46 a.m. appeared to struggle with the harness as it became tighter around her neck, the affidavit says.

Davila did not make visual contact with Fajr until 9:02:05 a.m. when the bus arrived at school, the affidavit says. She stood from her seat and looked toward the back of the bus, but either did not realize Fajr had been struggling or did not look at her, the affidavit says.

Davila helped the other two children off the bus and at 9:02:42 a.m. she began to unstrap the ground restraints on Fajr's wheelchair as the child was motionless with the harness around her neck, according to the affidavit.

A few seconds later Davila requested school staff help her with “the little girl in the wheelchair,” the affidavit says.

A teacher got on the bus at 9:02:58 a.m., and at 9:04 a.m. the teacher said she was unsure if Fajr was breathing, the affidavit says.

Additional staffers were summoned onto the bus and CPR began at 9:06:40 a.m. the affidavit says.

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Suzanne Russell is a breaking news reporter for MyCentralJersey.com covering crime, courts and other mayhem. To get unlimited access, please subscribe or activate your digital account today.