Olentangy Local Schools bus driver charged with breaking autistic student's finger
An Olentangy Local School District bus driver has been charged with felonious assault and suspended without pay after allegedly breaking an autistic student's finger.
Delaware County Sheriff's deputies were dispatched to Olentangy Orange High School Tuesday afternoon to meet with the father of the 15-year-old student, who told them that his son had been assaulted by a bus driver.
The bus driver is identified in court records as 50-year-old Joseph Theodore Carter, of Lewis Center, according to court records.
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Deputies then met with school administration and reviewed video that they say showed Carter walking over to the student on the bus and forcibly grabbing the 15-year-old male's left hand. Court documents state that the student did go for treatment at a hospital, where it was found that the student's left index finger was broken.
Emmanuel Olawale, an attorney representing the victim's family, told The Dispatch that the parents related to him that Carter had told the student to take his seatbelt off. Olawale said that the student has utism, and therefore did not understand the bus driver, which is why Carter allegedly "got frustrated and decided to physically restrain him or take him out of his seat."
Olentangy Schools released a statement saying that Carter is suspended without pay pending an investigation, and that the district is cooperating with authorities.
"As always, the safety of the children we serve is our highest priority," the statement read.
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This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Olentangy schools bus driver charged with breaking student's finger
