Crime & Justice

Father Says Severely Autistic Son Was Zip-Tied by School Bus Driver

HORRIBLE

The non-verbal elementary school student is now afraid to get on buses at all, according to Brian Gilroy, who is asking for $15 million.

A yellow school bus drops off a child.
Shannon Stapleton/Reuters

The father of a severely autistic, non-verbal elementary school student says the boy was “assaulted, attacked, battered, struck, hit, smacked, slapped, grabbed, shook, imprisoned, held against his will, [and] forcibly restrained by the use of zip ties and wire cutters” by his school bus driver on Long Island, according to a lawsuit filed Tuesday in New York State Supreme Court. Brian Gilroy claims this happened to his son, who is identified only by his initials, “L.G.,” in court documents, at least twice, and that he has notified the Nassau County District Attorney. In addition to L.G.’s physical injuries, he now suffers from, among other things, “fear of entering and being on buses, sleeplessness, depression, withdrawal, agitation, [and] aggression,” the lawsuit states. Gilroy is asking the school district and the bus company for $15 million. The driver, Ronald Mazzaglia, who was apparently frustrated that L.G. was acting out by banging on the bus windows, does not have a lawyer listed in court records.

Read it at New York State Supreme Court

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