Posted on 03/10/2006 8:43:53 PM PST by Samwise
Several Martinsville High School students say teachers stopped their calls to 911 while a fellow student was choking, because cell phones aren't allowed on campus.
Witnesses tell police the victim was rushing to finish his lunch before leaving the cafeteria, because you can't bring food outside. That's when they say he started choking, went into cardiac arrest, and died at the hospital.
Multiple 911 calls went out from Martinsville High School.
Witnesses say Jesse Tucker choked on a hamburger. Paramedics rushed the 15 year-old freshman to the hospital, where he later died.
"It's really hard to grasp the fact that you witnessed someone's death," says one student, "It's really hard to take in."
24 Hour News 8 spoke to another student witness who also wants to remain anonymous. He says one of his friends tried to call 911 with his cell phone, but just as he reached an operator, he says a teacher closed his phone saying cell phones aren't allowed on campus.
"She just closed his phone. She didn't do much to help the situation. She was panicky, she didn't go to the nurse's office," says one of the students.
Martinsville Police Chief Frans Hollanders says the investigation is still in preliminary stages, and at this point, investigators aren't pointing fingers.
"We've heard rumors to such an effect, that a cell phone was slapped out of a kids hand," Hollanders says, "We haven't been able to determine that at all whatsoever."
School officicals wouldn't talk on camera, but we caught up with an assistant superintendent and he issued this statement, "We are still in shock. We do believe the teacher did everything she could in the situation."
The police chief is encouraging witnesses to share their stories with investigators.
24 Hour News 8 did speak to Jesse's father Friday night. Understandably, he says he's still in shock and just wants to know exactly what happened.
An autopsy is scheduled for Saturday morning.
You're mostly correct, at least as it applies to the schools I've seen. Around here, they are served milk or juice, but can buy sodas from vending machines. Our students get several choices, and most seem to gravitate to the least healthy choice. :-(
Many parents of children in public schools see their children only as an inconvenience to be fobbed off on the schools.
...which is one reason public schools have such a hard time teaching some of them and getting them to behave. And, they aren't all poor children.
If we did away with public schools, what do you suppose would happen to those children?
Try to keep your eye on the substance of the thread instead of mere symbolism!
Read the post in question again. The first part of my post addressed the substance, and was a reply to wintertime calling me a rat troll. (You didn't think that was shameful?) Only the last two lines were concerned with "symbolism".
I do appreciate the posting tips, however. ;-)
They tried to do Heimlich on the student, but he was so large they couldn't reach around him.
There were nurses at the school for a blood drive, and they tended to the student almost immediately, even before the paramedics arrived.
I found 6 news articles related to this incident on a news.google.com search, and this is the only one that mentioned the "problem" with the cell phones and suggested that the student wasn't treated promptly.
You're mostly correct, at least as it applies to the schools I've seen. Around here, they are served milk or juice, but can buy sodas from vending machines. Our students get several choices, and most seem to gravitate to the least healthy choice. :-(
$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
Mostly, government institutionalized schooling robs children of the time they need to play. Play gives children the opportunity to run off calories and build strong bones and muscles.
Add to this that government institutionalized schooling forbids children in the school play yard the type of play that they need. They are afraid the children will get hurt or the games are not politically correct.
I didn't say they'd have done "just as well". I said they'd have done "just fine".
No, they probably wouldn't have been ready for college in their early teens, but I don't think they'd have been "blithering, drooling institutionalized idiots" either.
Thanks. I thought that there might be some more information out there about this. Many here just enjoy bashing.
calling me a rat troll.
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I ASKED if you were a troll. This is a big difference from "calling" you a troll.
More info here.
Thie whole thing reminds me of the teacher who was accused of fondling a female student in the detention room. My, how the Freepers went off! Then a few days later it was revealed that footage from the school security cameras showed that the teacher was not in the room at the time the incident was supposed to have occurred. Turns out the teacher had been the one to send the girl to detention, and she wanted some payback.
We have one local TV station that focuses on the "if it bleeds, it leads" sort of story...I'm guessing that the TV station that did this version of the story is the same way: anything for some controversy.
Nope just drug give out training.......Well NEA??????????
Obviously, the teachers were more concerned with getting their kids back to class and finishing their assigned reading - Heather Has Two Mommies. Or perhaps they'd be tardy for the geography class, where they could continue their comparison of Bush to Hitler.
They were able to partially clear the airway, but not completely.
The student apparently had crammed half a hamburger into his mouth. Not sure how much he actually swallowed.
We even learned how to conduct a self-Heimlich using a plain deskchair in the event you found yourself choking without assistance nearby. I'd imagine it would be difficult to maintain composure when you feel your air being restricted.
That happened to me one time. "Maintaining composure" was really hard when I was choking to death. I knew I was dying. I prayed. It came into my head to use my desk chair. The food I was choking on FLEW out.
My words here do not even come close to describing the incident. But I guarantee I have been more careful since then.
Choking to death is a horrible and painful way to die. I hope that teacher suffers severe punishment.
That's what I get for posting before I've read most of the comments. Please scratch my last sentence
This story is weird. Something is not right. I would not be surprised to find that the boy had some other underlying health issue. But, unless they publish the result of the autopsy, we will never know.
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