A mother in Kentucky is suing her local school district for negligence after her son, who has autism, left his classroom and wandered onto a busy road, completely unnoticed by school staff.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was the worst day of my life,\u201d Leslie Weston told LEX18, recalling the incident last November when her seven-year-old, who is predominantly nonverbal, climbed out of his classroom window at Meadowthorpe Elementary and ended up in the middle of one of Lexington\u2019s busiest streets.<\/p>\n
Weston\u2019s lawsuit, reviewed by PEOPLE, states that her son attends the school\u2019s moderate to severe disability (MSD) classroom and has a \u201cwell-documented and known fixation\u201d with the window. The suit alleges that on Nov. 17, the window was left unlocked and unattended, allowing him to exit.<\/p>\n
Fayette County Public Schools declined to comment, telling PEOPLE, \u201cWe do not provide statements on pending litigations.\u201d<\/p>\n
According to the lawsuit, her son went completely unnoticed by the adults in the MSD classroom, climbed out the open window, and left the building.<\/p>\n
Security footage reportedly showed the child running across the schoolyard before he squeezed through a gap in the fence and ended up on the busy nearby road. Several drivers called police after spotting the unattended child running along the roadside.<\/p>\n
Officers from animal control eventually found the boy and took him to the hospital, where he was terrified, had a rapid heartbeat, and was vomiting. At that time, no missing-child report had been filed. According to the lawsuit, hospital staff noticed he was chewing on a \u201cRecess\u201d sticker and called Meadowthorpe Elementary to see if a student was unaccounted for.<\/p>\n
The complaint also states that Child Protective Services (CPS) conducted an investigation, which substantiated findings of abandonment, lack of supervision, and potential physical abuse.<\/p>\n