Bus Driver Charged In Connection With Death Of Whittier Special Needs Student
LOS ANGELES (CBSLA.com) — A 37-year-old bus driver was charged Friday in connection with the death of a special needs student.
According to the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office, Armando Abel Ramirez has been charged with one felony count of dependent adult abuse resulting in death.
On the afternoon of Sept. 11, 2015, officers were sent to a bus yard in Whittier where they located Hun Joon "Paul" Lee, 19, lying on the floor of a parked school bus, according to the Whittier Police Department.
All of the windows on the bus were closed. The temperature that day reached nearly 90 degrees.
Upon their arrival, paramedics were unable to resuscitate Lee. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
A preliminary investigation revealed Lee could not verbally communicate and needed special care. He attended Sierra Adult School.
According to police, Ramirez was working a split shift as a substitute driver for Lee's bus that day.
Prosecutors said Ramirez believed Lee exited the bus to go to school in the morning, however, at the end of his shift, he did not check if anyone was left inside the vehicle.
At the end of his morning shift, Ramirez reportedly returned to the bus yard to fill out paperwork before returning home.
Later that day, a dispatcher notified Ramirez that Lee was missing upon his arrival to work the second part of his shift.
At that point, Ramirez went to his bus, found Lee unresponsive and notified authorities, prosecutors added.
If convicted as charged, Ramirez faces a maximum possible sentence of nine years in state prison. He is scheduled to appear in court on April 25.
