HONOLULU (AP) — Parents of an autistic 5-year-old boy are suing the Hawaii Department of Education after he wandered away from his elementary school and ended up 5 miles away in Waikiki.
HONOLULU (AP) — Parents of an autistic 5-year-old boy are suing the Hawaii Department of Education after he wandered away from his elementary school and ended up 5 miles away in Waikiki.
The federal lawsuit by Kipeni Lutu Jr. and Gabrielle Valdes accuses Kauluwela Elementary near Chinatown of negligent supervision. The lawsuit says teachers didn’t know the boy was missing until the final recess bell. Police later found the boy running behind a bus along Kuhio Avenue.
The parents’ attorney Michael Green said Monday the boy hasn’t been able to explain how he got to Waikiki. Green says the boy’s parents moved him to another school and the mother quit her job to monitor him.
An education department spokeswoman says the school reviewed security procedures after the 2014 incident.