In a span of less than 48 hours last week, two autistic children from Long Island managed to leave their school premises unnoticed. One of the incidents ended in tragedy when a 15-year-old boy was struck and killed while walking along a busy highway. The alarming security breaches have left parents in Nassau County outraged and officials seeking explanations as to how these vulnerable children could have slipped away from their supposedly secure campuses in broad daylight.
The family of the deceased teenager, Christopher Williams, is in deep mourning. His sister, Danecia Lewis, expressed her grief on the family’s GoFundMe page, stating that their world was shattered. She recounted the horrifying sequence of events, where the school contacted their mother asking about Christopher’s whereabouts, only to have a detective call shortly after to identify his body.
Christopher was a student at the Martin de Porres School for Exceptional Children, a school dedicated to children with special needs. He left the campus unnoticed around 1 p.m. on Thursday, according to officials. Shortly after, he was fatally hit while walking along the Southern State Parkway near Exit 13 in Valley Stream. He was rushed to Long Island Jewish Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
Joe Trainor, the executive director of the school, expressed his sorrow over the tragic incident. He extended his deepest condolences to Christopher’s family, friends, and loved ones, and promised a thorough review of the school’s policies to determine what went wrong. However, Christopher’s family is demanding accountability for his death, stating that condolences are not enough.
The day before Christopher’s tragic incident, another autistic student, a 5-year-old, managed to leave the playground at Riverside Elementary School in Rockville Centre during recess. The child climbed a fence and walked half a mile home alone. The child’s parents, who chose to remain anonymous, were shocked to find their child waiting for them at home.
The school contacted the police as soon as they realized the child was missing. The exact time of this realization is unclear, but police arrived at the family’s home approximately 10 minutes after the call was made, according to school officials and police. The Rockville Centre School District issued a statement saying they take student safety very seriously and are actively investigating the incident.