Port Arthur mother wants answers after son allegedly suffocated by bus driver – Port Arthur News

LaTisha Montgomery has found herself struggling with depression and anxiety for the past two months. Her son, J-Kaeson Babino, also showed similar signs, she said.

Although polite and full of smiles in person, the 5-year-old has reverted to his old ways, such as occasional bedwetting. And he will no longer sleep in his own room.

Both say it started on October 13, when the kindergarten child was allegedly suffocated by his school bus driver.

“I work Sept 12,” said Montgomery, who does construction at a local refinery. “And people tell me not to feel guilty or bad about it, but I kind of do it because I trusted these people.”

Babino was in his third year at Tekoa Academy, having spent two years in pre-K before starting kindergarten. And he liked to take the bus because friends from his apartment complex accompanied him.

This is, according to the child, what triggered the events which were ultimately reported to the police.

Babino was sitting and talking with friends. For what he believes to be the noise level, he was moved to another location.

“I started to cry because he moved me to another seat,” said the child. “And then he got up and walked over to me. Then he strangled me.

Montgomery said she was initially unaware that anything had happened. She had come home from work early that day feeling unwell and greeted her son at the bus stop somewhere between 4 p.m. and 4:30 p.m.

“I got J-Kaeson off the bus and asked him, ‘How was your day? “And he just looked in her eyes,” she said.

Soon after, she received a text from a neighbor whose daughter said Babino was suffocated on the bus.

She questioned her son about it, and he confirmed the neighbor’s story.

While her initial response was to call the police, Montgomery said she first called the school and spoke with the principal, who apologized for any misconduct and said the case would be processed.

“What really hurt me was when something told me to get up the next morning… and I went to that bus stop just to see if he was going to drive that bus,” said the mother. “And he was still driving the bus.”

Babino was not with her. It had already been decided that he would no longer attend this school and is now in kindergarten at Hillcrest Primary School in the Netherlands.

A document obtained by Port Arthur Newsmedia from the City of Port Arthur shows that a felony charge of injuring a child was laid at 7:56 p.m. by a person who lives in the Montgomery apartment. While many of the details, including names, are redacted and a full report has not been released due to an ongoing investigation, the report says a police officer spoke with someone who wanted to file a complaint against a bus driver for a choking incident.

Cory Kneeland, head of admissions at the Jefferson County District Attorney’s Office, said he received the case on Nov. 13 and is currently under review.

“It was not rejected,” he said.

Montgomery said she had not heard from the police since the report was filed; but heard from a child welfare service social worker as she also reported the incident to them.

The social worker, she said, told her he had looked at video footage of the bus and called it “awful.”

Kent John, a legal representative for Tekoa Academy, said on Friday he too had looked at the footage and found no evidence of abuse.

“I made an independent assessment of the incident,” he said. “This video was handed over to the police. “

For now, Montgomery is awaiting responses while working on the reported incident.

“We are going to ask him for advice,” she said. “I can take a few sessions myself. “