By: Najla Alexander
Authorities in Somerset County announced that on January 13, following a weeklong trial, a Somerset County Jury convicted defendant Amanda Davila, 28, of New Brunswick, with second-degree Endangering the Welfare of a Child but aquited her of aggravated manslaughter.
The State was represented by Assistant Prosecutor Michael McLaughlin and Assistant Prosecutor Bridgett Dudding, with the assistance of Litigation Paralegal Maria Ducca, officials said.
Sentencing is scheduled for March 7, 2025, when the defendant faces up to ten years in New Jersey State Prison, Somerset County authorities said.
According to Somerset County officials, on July 17, 2023, the defendant was employed as a bus monitor by Montauk Transportation on a route to the Claremont School in Franklin Township.
In that role, officials stated, she was responsible for the safety of the victim, Fajr Williams, a 6-year-old disabled girl who was wheelchair-bound and a passenger on the bus.
Testimony revealed that the victim was adequately strapped in her wheelchair by her older sister before leaving the house to get onto the bus, according to Somerset County officials.
County officials say that the surveillance video from inside the bus showed that the defendant failed to properly anchor the victim’s wheelchair to the floor of the bus and failed to use the shoulder and lap belts.
During the bus ride, Somerset County officials said the victim slid down in her wheelchair and was strangled to death by her wheelchair harness.
The video further showed that the defendant sat in front of the victim instead of across the aisle from her and that she used her cell phone with earbuds to scroll through Instagram, listen to Apple Music, and send/receive thirty-four text messages during the bus ride instead of checking on the victim, officials stated.
Somerset County authorities said that testimony revealed that the defendant received six years of safety training that emphasized a no cellphone and no earbuds policy.
Additional testimony revealed that the defendant was trained to frequently check on the students in her care, across from wheelchair-bound students, and always use a shoulder and lap belt with students, Somerset County officials said.