Kaleiah Jones should have been in good hands when she collapsed in her Virginia high school hallway from a heart condition earlier this year.
After all, Virginia state law requires all school resource officers and nurses — as well as teachers and administrators — to be certified in administrating CPR. State law also requires school officials to be certified in the use of automated external defibrillators , which are mandated by state law to be in every school.
But despite the law, several teachers, administrators, a school resource officer and a nurse stood around the 16-year-old Black girl for 16 minutes, neglecting to perform CPR other than the school cop conducting chest compressions for only 17 seconds.
As a result, Jones ended up dying, according to a wrongful death lawsuit filed last week, accusing the school staff at Menchville High School in Newport News of standing by and doing nothing while the girl died.
“The defendants gross negligence and willful and wanton negligence to Kaleiah’s medical needs caused her death. Had the defendants promptly commenced CPR and/or used the AED, Kaleiah would have survived,” the lawsuit obtained by Atlanta Black Star says.