UPDATE: Family of Menchville sophomore files $85M wrongful death suit against city of Newport News, NNPS
Original article:
Help didn't come in time when Menchville sophomore Kaleiah Jones collapsed at school in February.
The 16-year-old's family said she laid on the floor for roughly nine minutes with no help. After they reviewed the surveillance video, they said for those nine minutes no one started CPR and no one went to get an AED.
Then, the family's attorneys said, school personnel performed 17 seconds of CPR, but stopped — leaving the teen to lay on the floor for seven more minutes. EMS arrived and took Jones to the hospital. She later died.
Watch: Newport News community honors Menchville sophomore who died after passing out in school
Her family and friends grieved the sudden death. In February they held a vigil and nine minutes of silence. They said the silence marked the nine minutes Jones waited for lifesaving care.
"She's still waiting for help, she's still waiting for help. It was the longest nine minutes," Jones' aunt Porscha Frank told News 3 in February.
Loved ones took that time to remember the bright, creative, bubbly, and kind person Jones was.
"She was the kindest most soft-spoken, generous person for a young person to come over and talk with a widowed woman," neighbor Ruby Sheppard told News 3 in February.
Watch: Investigation into Newport News teen's death continues as community copes with tragedy
Jones suffered from Bradycardia, or a slow heart rate — something her family said the school knew.
They told News 3 they thought school personnel should have acted sooner.
"If they would have started chest compressions, it would have started back her heart," said Frank.
Jones' name won't be forgotten. The family and a group of attorneys are set to speak out about the incident Thursday afternoon.
One of those attorneys is trial lawyer Ben Crump, who specializes in civil rights and wrongful death lawsuits. Notably he represented the families of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor as well as families impacted in the Flint Water Crisis.
