A 5-year-old boy passed unconsciously while playing outside during recess, and his friends tried to alert the teacher.
A complaint claims that teachers at Charter Oak International Academy in West Hartford, Connecticut, disregarded the children’s warnings and Romeo Pierre Louis’s lying on the ground for about 10 minutes while they believed he was “acting dead.”
The 5-year-old boy Collapse Thought was Playing Dead
Romeo wasn’t playing and required assistance, but by the time they discovered it, the complaint, which was filed on April 5th, a year after the boy’s demise, claims, “it was too late.”
Romeo’s life was no longer able to be saved, and he passed away at Connecticut Children’s Hospital two days later, on April 7, 2022, according to a complaint.
The town of West Hartford and the West Hartford Board of Education is being sued by Chantel Pierre Louis and D’Meza Shultz Pierre Louis, who are his parents.
They blame town and school officials for their son’s demise. “We are heartbroken that Romeo’s life was finally stolen due of such a delay in care after his fall,” the parents wrote in a statement on their website, which raises awareness of Romeo’s passing.
According to the Connecticut Post, which quoted a West Hartford police report, Romeo Pierre Louis Sarah Nielsen of Silver Golub & Teitell School surveillance film showed Romeo on the ground for about nine minutes before teachers went to check his pulse.
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The West Hartford Board of Education and Dallas Dodge, West Hartford’s corporation attorney, declined to comment on the ongoing legal battle. The parent’s legal representative in the lawsuit is Joaquin Madry of the Silver Golub & Teitell law firm.
Romeo’s collapse was left unattended for a number of minutes, according to the lawsuit, because the students at the school frequently participate in a game called play dead.
Romeo wasn’t performing; instead, the complaint claims that he was having a medical emergency that ultimately caused his death.
According to the police report given to McClatchy News, a teacher who responded to Romeo told authorities that other children had warned her the youngster was acting strangely/playing funny/teasing.
When she attempted to check his pulse, she didn’t feel anything. The toddler was discovered by other kids, who claimed that at first, they thought the child was making up to be asleep.
The youngsters later believed he was unconscious and not just pretending to be asleep, according to the police report. Romeo’s parents’ website and the complaint state that substantial and extensive efforts were made to preserve his life at Connecticut Children’s Hospital before he passed away from heart issues.
Romeo was on the ground for around nine minutes before teachers went to check his pulse, according to school security footage, as reported by the Connecticut Post, which cited a West Hartford police report.
