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The Tennessee Conservative [By Paula Gomes] –
Clarksville-Montgomery County School System (CMCSS) employees watched while a middle school boy was choked on a bus by a high school student last month. As a result of the attack, the twelve-year-old boy suffered several strokes, underwent two surgeries, and at this time is unable to talk, walk or eat.
According to the boy’s mother, Jamie Horton, the two adults present – the driver of the school bus and a school bus aide – not only failed to intervene when a sixteen-year-old high school student placed her son in a chokehold, but also made no report of the attack to school authorities after the incident had taken place.
Horton’s son, Hayden, a student at Kenwood Middle School, was on a bus picking up high schoolers after the end of school on October 11th, when the sixteen-year-old attacked him, putting him in a headlock and choking him.
Hayden did not fight back, but his attacker kept choking him, as his fifteen-year-old sister rushed onto the bus to help him.
According to investigators, camera footage of the incident, which has yet to be viewed by Jamie, captured one of the school employees saying, “Tap out, man,” instead of coming to Hayden’s aid.
In the days following the incident, Hayden began experiencing headaches and mobility issues. On October 20th, nine days after the attack, Hayden started vomiting and was unable to stand. He was then rushed to the emergency room of Monroe Carrell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt where it was found that blood clots had caused him to have multiple strokes, and he had also had a massive stroke that was due to a tear in his neck.
Hayden had to undergo emergency surgery for tube placement to relieve swelling, which was followed by a second surgery that involved the removal of bone to allow his brain and spinal cord to swell without hemorrhaging. This led to Hayden fighting for his life for twelve days on a ventilator.
While he is still not able to speak, he is able to communicate in a limited fashion, and remains hospitalized. According to his mother, Hayden will need extensive rehabilitation and there is no stroke rehabilitation facility for pediatric patients in Tennessee. As a result, the family is looking to have to possibly relocate to Georgia or Kentucky for the care that he will require.
In the meantime, Hayden is getting physical, occupational, and speech therapy to help him regain the ability to speak and to walk.
The attack is being investigated by multiple agencies including the Tennessee Department of Children’s Services, Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office, and CMCSS.
About the Author: Paula Gomes is a Tennessee resident and reporter for The Tennessee Conservative. You can reach Paula at paula@tennesseeconservativenews.com.
