Bus staff didn’t properly strap in Ohio special needs student, 7, ‘causing her death’: report

Seven-year-old Ngone Talla, a Cincinnati Public Schools student with developmental disabilities, died after being found unresponsive in her wheelchair on a school bus. Emails show the superintendent wrote that bus staff had not strapped her in appropriately, while the death has been ruled accidental and the case has prompted calls for a thorough review.

The coroner’s office said Ngone died from positional asphyxiation and noted a delay in care. An autopsy report described her body slipping from the wheelchair seat, with her neck and chin compressed by the restraint system. First Student confirmed its CEO spoke with the superintendent that evening, but said the account was made before an investigation and did not reflect later findings; the school board said it would wait for a full review.