Coroner attributes 7-year-old CPS student's death to wheelchair restraint failure
An autopsy report released November 9 details how a five-point harness compressed Ngone Talla's neck, while the district has yet to answer questions about the bus staffing that day.
By Chioma Brooks ·
The Hamilton County Coroner's Office released an autopsy report on Monday providing the cause of death for Ngone Talla, a Cincinnati Public Schools student who died on her bus nearly two months ago. The report identifies positional asphyxiation as the cause and classifies the death as accidental.
Ngone, a nonverbal student at Roselawn Condon School, relied on a wheelchair and had developmental disabilities. Her father, Abdoula Talla, stated she was healthy when she left their Northside home on Wednesday, September 16. The bus arrived at their Colerain Avenue residence at 5 p.m. and idled for 10 to 15 minutes before staff asked the family to board. Ngone's 12-year-old sister, Marema Talla, discovered the girl motionless in her wheelchair. Marema checked for a pulse, found none, and panicked. Abdoula Talla called 911 at 5:03 p.m., and dispatch records show crews were sent for a child in possible cardiac arrest at 5:05 p.m.
The autopsy details the mechanical cause of the asphyxiation. Ngone was secured in a five-point seat belt restraint system for her wheelchair. As she moved her limbs, her hips slid off the seat. The restraint system then compressed her right neck and chin, leading to rapid loss of consciousness. The report noted a delay in care before emergency services were contacted. Ngone was pronounced dead at the scene with no trauma to her head, torso, or extremities.
Questions remain regarding the personnel on the bus. Abdoula Talla told WCPO that a driver and an assistant were present, but the assistant was unfamiliar to the family. The usual aide for Ngone was absent that day. The district has not yet confirmed if the employee was new or a substitute.
Carla Leader, an Ohio attorney specializing in special education law, noted that the assistant's identity could be significant depending on the requirements of Ngone's Individualized Education Program. WCPO does not know if the IEP mandated an aide during transportation or what training the staff received. Leader cautioned that these unknowns do not prove the IEP was violated or that the death was preventable.
CPS has not yet answered previous inquiries about whether the driver and assistant are under investigation or what monitoring protocols were in place. Abdoula Talla believes a staff member should have called 911 immediately upon seeing his daughter in distress. He stated that if a child is not moving, the standard response is to call for help.
