The parents of a five-year-old boy who walked away from school without anyone noticing have filed a lawsuit against the state Department of Education.
Crystal Dejesus called Waianae Elementary last Wednesday, Sept. 21, wanting to pick up her two sons early. The state Department of Education says the children were supposed to wait in the main office, but 5-year-old Randy mistakenly thought he was supposed to walk home.
He was eventually found near Ala Walua Street, about a mile away from school on the opposite side of Farrington Highway.
Dejesus previously told KHON2 the school made a big mistake and she wants someone to take responsibility.
“When you talk about the health, safety, and welfare of your children, when you turn your children over to a counselor or teacher, who basically takes the place of parents during the school day, how do you tell a kid of those tender years you’re supposed to walk home? Well, they did that,” said Michael Green, the family’s attorney. “I don’t think the kid understands that in a split second, he could’ve been under a bus or a car, or some freak could’ve picked him up, put him in the car and say ‘Come boy, I’ll take you home,’ and then drive him somewhere where nobody sees him alive again. Those are the things that go through parents’ heads, and rightfully so.”
DOE officials say they cannot comment on pending litigation.
