BOERUM HILL — Teachers and supervisors were not to blame for the death of a 21-year-old autistic student who choked last year, according to a report released Monday.
Dyasha Phelps Smith died on Oct. 28, 2014, after she was thought to have “grabbed a muffin from a classroom closet, placed it in her mouth, choked and became unconscious,” according to a report from Special Commissioner of Investigation Richard Condon.
The investigation into Phelps Smith's death found that there was “no misconduct” from city employees charged with looking after her, the report said.
Phelps Smith, a student at Star Academy, a special program in the School for International Studies at 284 Baltic St., choked shortly before noon and emergency responders rushed her to Methodist Hospital, where she was pronounced dead, according to the report.
The investigation found that Dia Rountree, Phelps Smith’s one-to-one paraprofessional and Melissa Sundaram, a teacher, were both in the classroom at the time of the incident.
Rountree, who had been assigned to Phelps Smith since 2010, was responsible for escorting the non-verbal student to and from school on the bus and to her classrooms.
Rountree told investigators that Phelps Smith became “aggressive” on the day of the incident and started grabbing other students — behavior she had displayed previously, according to the report.
As other students were being led to a separate classroom because of the “crisis” situation, nurse practitioner Elizabeth Quint arrived with Phelps Smith’s daily medication and a cup of water. Staff members then realized the student was choking.
Quint began to perform to Heimlich maneuver and was soon assisted by two other staff members.
But the student became unconscious and she was placed on the floor, according to the report.
Quint told investigators that she saw a “little pasty matter” in Phelps Smith’s throat. She removed it and then performed CPR after telling her colleagues to call 911, the report said.
Snacks that were purchased by paraprofessionals for students were kept in a cabinet above the sink but Phelps Smith had previously broken the lock on the cabinet. Custodial staff said they were not asked to fix the cabinet, according to the report.
However, "the investigation did not confirm that the substance Dyasha chocked on was a muffin or that it came from the cabinet with the broken lock," the report said.
Soon after her death, Phelps Smith’s family announced that they were planning to sue the city for negligence.
Catherine Smith, Phelps Smith's mother, said last year that her daughter required constant monitoring, especially while eating and functioned "like a 3 year old."
Attorney David Perecman did not immediately respond to request for comment.
“I miss my daughter,” Smith said at Phelp Smith’s funeral last year. “I cherished her every step.”
