SOMERVILLE, NJ — A New Jersey school bus monitor has been convicted of endangering the welfare of a child after failing to act as a 6-year-old girl was fatally strangled by her wheelchair harness during a school bus ride.
Amanda Davila, 28, was found guilty Monday by a Somerset County jury but was acquitted of more serious charges, including aggravated manslaughter and reckless manslaughter.
Prosecutors presented surveillance footage showing Davila wearing headphones and using her cellphone while Fajr Williams, a nonverbal child with Emanuel syndrome, slowly slipped in her wheelchair and was fatally restrained by the harness.
During her testimony, Davila admitted, “I was scrolling through apps to go onto Instagram and texting,” but argued the child’s harness had been improperly fastened by a family member.
Fajr’s mother, Najmah Nash, firmly rejected claims that improper buckling led to her daughter’s death.
Davila now faces sentencing for her role in the fatal incident.