A Florida teacher was found unresponsive by police and sent to the hospital after she was allegedly attacked by her 5-year-old student, NBC Los Angeles reports.
Trisha Meadows, a longtime teacher at Pines Lakes Elementary School, was sent to the hospital and later discharged after a 5-year-old student attacked her with their hands and feet, authorities said. As reported by local outlet WSVN, the incident began when the 5-year-old, who has special needs, and another 4-year-old student started throwing objects around the classroom and toppling over chairs. Meadows intervened and brought the 5-year-old to the “cool down room,” which is when they reportedly attacked her.
Meadows phoned in for help on the school radio, and when an officer responded, she was discovered to be “in a faint state” sitting up against a wall, according to a police report. She was “clearly weak and dazed” and soon began coughing and dry heaving. The teacher “continued to blink and breathe regularly but at no point was able to vocally respond or show signs of a response.”
“He actually ran and attacked and jumped on her with his whole body weight. She fell and hit her head, which caused the severe injury and other bodily injuries where she is going to need surgery,” President of Broward Teachers Union Ana Fusco told WSVN. She added that Meadows’ injuries were so severe she needed to be briefly intubated when she arrived at Memorial Regional Hospital.
“She has been hospitalized several times by this student,” Fusco said. “It’s not the first time, not the second time, it’s the third time.” She said the same 5-year-old once even threw a bookcase on top of Meadows during circle time, crushing her underneath it.
“The district has failed. They need to get in there and when the teachers are saying, ‘I’ve got this happening,’ whether it’s one time. It should never get past one time when it’s that severe of rage and violence,” Fusco added. “She is a sweet teacher. I mean, like, I trust this woman with my child. That’s a second mom. It’s really sad. It’s sad. It’s heartbreaking.”
The Pembroke Pines Police Department is reportedly investigating, though it was unclear if the child knew right from wrong during the attack. NBC Miami later reported the student would not face criminal charges. The teachers union said Trisha Meadows will likely not return to teach at Pines Lake Elementary School.
