WHITTIER, Calif. — A school bus driver who left an autistic teen in a bus for seven hours on a hot day, leading to the boy’s death, has been sentenced to two years in prison.
The case led to a new California law requiring safety alarms on all school buses.
The driver, Armando Ramirez, who faced a possible prison sentence of nine years, agreed to plead guilty to a felony count of dependent adult abuse resulting in the death of 19-year-old Hun Joon “Paul” Lee, who was autistic and nonverbal.
Ramirez also admitted to an allegation of proximately causing Lee’s death.
Jonathan Lynn, Ramirez’s attorney, told the Whittier Daily News that the defendant read a statement during his sentencing apologizing to Lee’s family.
“He accepts responsibility for what happened,” Lynn said. “He regrets this every day. He has a daughter himself.
“He wanted to plead guilty to accept responsibility and to give closure to the victim’s family.”
Ramirez was a substitute driver for the bus Lee rode on Sept. 11, 2015. He thought the teen got off the bus but didn’t look over his shoulder or walk to the back of the bus to check if anyone was still in the vehicle.
Lee’s family became worried when he didn’t come home from school and called school officials and the police.
The teen was found unconscious and lying on the floor of the school bus, which had all its windows closed. Prosecutors said the temperature hit almost 100 degrees that day.
Lee’s family filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Whittier Union High School District and Pupil Transportation Cooperative.
Lee’s death led to a new law requiring school buses in California to be equipped with a child-safety alarm system in the back that must be turned off by the bus driver, ensuring that the driver checks each seat.
The law also requires drivers to receive training in child-safety check procedures upon the annual renewal of their licenses.
