New Jersey school bus aide awaits verdict in student death trial
SOMERVILLE, N.J. -- The fate of a former school bus aide charged in the death of a special needs student is now in the hands of a New Jersey jury.
Amanda Davila took the stand Thursday in her trial for aggravated manslaughter after a safety harness strangled 6-year-old Fajr Williams on a bus she was monitoring.
Davila, 27, told jurors she's remorseful and suffering from PTSD linked to the fateful bus ride to Claremont Elementary School in Somerset in July 2023.
"I feel bad for what happened, and I am so sorry that it did happen, and I made a mistake," Davila testified.
Davila testified she wasn't solely responsible for the seatbelt harness around Williams, who used a wheelchair, and that no one ever told her to adjust it.
Jurors watch surveillance video of special needs student's death
Jurors watched video from the bus showing Williams sliding down in her wheelchair and her harness getting wrapped around her neck. As Williams was struggling, prosecutors said Davila was wearing earbuds and checking social media on her cellphone.
"I was scrolling through apps to go onto Instagram and texting," Davila testified.
In her defense, Davila claimed her employer allowed her to sit in the middle of the bus and did not properly train her. Her attorney blamed the deceased student's older sister who put the harness on.
"She died because her own mother didn't properly, or delegated, fastening her into the wheelchair," attorney Michael A. Policastro said, "and that is not responsibility of Amanda."
"It is heartbreaking and it's disturbing"
During closing statements, the prosecution also showed video of police interrogating Davila. At the same time, Williams' mother was slumped over, crying. Prosecutors called Davila a liar, claiming she broke policy by using her phone, and said she failed to watch Williams and secure a bus latch to prevent the wheelchair from moving, despite receiving training over seven years.
"It is heartbreaking and it's disturbing to keep reliving it and to have to physically watch my daughter suffer due to negligence," said Najmah Nash, Williams' mother.
"The cellphone is more important than the child," Somerset County First Assistant Prosecutor Michael McLaughlin told the jury.
Jurors will resume deliberations on Monday. The charges against Davila carry a 10-year prison sentence.
