COBBLE HILL — The family of an autistic student, who choked to death at her Cobble Hill school, is suing the city for negligence, their lawyer said Friday evening.
Dyasha Phelps Smith, 21, who choked on a muffin and died Tuesday, should have been monitored constantly, especially while eating, her mother Catherine Smith, 70, said Friday.
“She functions like a three year old,” Smith said. “You’re taking care of a baby.”
It was lack of supervision from the school that led to Phelps Smith’s death, lawyer David Perecman said at a press conference Friday evening.
Phelps Smith, who required a full-time paraprofessional, was a student at Star Academy, a special program in the School for International Studies at 284 Baltic St., according to previous reports and Perecman.
“This child was not supposed to be left alone,” said Perecman, who also represented the family of Avonte Oquendo.
Perecman did not specify a dollar amount for the lawsuit but said “millions” of dollars would be sought.
Smith said the paraprofessional, who had been assigned to her daughter for several years, was “negligent” and had previously caused concerns for the family, such as rudeness and failing to pick up Phelps Smith for school.
The school also once sent a peanut butter sandwich home with Phelps Smith, who was allergic to peanuts, Smith said.
Several questions still surround the tragic Tuesday afternoon incident, Perecman said.
It is unclear whether anyone immediately administered the Heimlich maneuver after Phelps Smith began choking, he said. The student died before she reached the Methodist Hospital, Smith said.
School officials also told a doctor at the hospital that the student had choked on a sandwich — but told Smith it was a muffin, she added.
The family, which adopted Dyasha when she was 7 years old, described her as an innocent and beautiful young lady. Her funeral is scheduled for Wednesday in Brooklyn.
“She left the home healthy, happy,” said Veronica Smith, Dyasha’s sister. “Then she didn’t come back home.”
