Mother says bus ignored son trapped in wheelchair on two-hour ride

Precious Smith says her 13-year-old son was trapped behind his wheelchair headrest during a school bus ride from Orange County to Sullivan County, and that his screams for help were ignored for roughly one to two hours.

Smith said the boy, who lives in Newburgh and attends the Center for Discovery in Monticello, is nonverbal, uses a wheelchair, has low muscle tone and depends on a feeding tube. She said the position on the bus put pressure on the tube and left him in visible distress. By the time the bus reached its destination, Smith said, she was not called by the transportation company. Instead, she said a school nurse contacted her after arrival and told her the boy came off the bus with blood on his clothes.

Smith said she later reviewed surveillance video from the bus and believed it showed her son screaming while the driver and a bus aide failed to respond. She said the company never acknowledged the incident to her. The episode, she said, was on July 6, 2025.

After the incident, Smith said, the Newburgh Enlarged City School District canceled the transportation arrangement for her son’s route with Orange County Transit and replaced it with a different bus company. She also said the district began providing a nurse on the bus and during school hours. Even so, Smith said there were times when no nurse was available and her son missed school. She said she kept him home for months after the incident because she feared for his safety.

District transportation information says Newburgh joined the Orange County School Bus Safety Program, which includes interior cameras and an emergency response panic button for drivers. The district also says it contracts with multiple bus companies and has been dealing with a nationwide bus driver shortage that can cause delays. The district told News 12 the issue was resolved and that additional supports were put in place to meet the student’s needs.

The case highlights the stakes for Orange County families whose children require specialized transportation. New York State Education Department guidance says transportation plans for students with disabilities should be individualized and can include special seating, adapted buses or lifts, one-on-one bus attendants, nursing services and other supervision when needed. For Smith, the central question remains why a child who could not speak up for himself was left trapped for so long, and whether the adults assigned to protect him were watching at all.