Police reported that an 18-year-old student with autism died last week on a school bus during his trip home from a Riverside, California, school.
According to authorities, Anthony Corona, a student at Bright Futures Academy located roughly 60 miles east of Los Angeles, became distressed while being transported home to San Bernardino the evening of Dec. 12. The situation escalated to point the school bus driver was forced to hastily exit the freeway.
“While two special education aides and the bus driver, who are trained in de-escalation techniques, attempted to calm him, (Corona) lost consciousness,” said Betti Colucci, president of Bright Futures Academy, in a statement.
She noted that two of the staff members performed CPR on Corona as the other called 911. Police reported that Corona was prone to outbursts. He was transported to an area hospital where he was pronounced dead.
“A preliminary review of the circumstances indicates that school officials followed all safety protocols, and a thorough investigation is underway,” Colucci added in the statement.
The academy, which specializes in assisting the developmentally disabled, said that it will not release information about Corona’s medical history to protect the family’s privacy and wouldn’t answer further questions as the police investigation is ongoing.
Authorities said an autopsy will be performed on the student to determine his cause of death.
