A 16-year-old girl collapsed at Menchville High School in Newport News, Virginia, and did not receive CPR until nine minutes later, which her family believes led to her tragic death. Kaleiah Jones, a sophomore, stumbled and fell in a school hallway on February 20.
According to Newport News, a lawsuit filed by her family claims staff members responded but did not immediately check her pulse or begin CPR.
Instead of taking life-saving action, a school nurse splashed water on Kaleiah and staff members shook her shoulders as she lay on the floor.
Despite the presence of three automated external defibrillators (AEDs) on campus, none were used until emergency personnel arrived.
It was not until nine minutes after her collapse that a school resource officer briefly attempted CPR, but they stopped after just 17 seconds.
Kaleiah remained unresponsive on the hallway floor, and staff moved her between her back and side multiple times without performing CPR.
At 1:23 p.m., nearly 14 minutes after her collapse, emergency medical personnel arrived. By then, Kaleiah had no pulse and was no longer breathing.
While they performed CPR and attempted to save her, she was later pronounced dead at the hospital at 2:43 p.m.
Kaleiah’s mother, Keyonna Stewart, said at an emotional press conference that her daughter had a heart condition called bradycardia, which the school was aware of.
She expressed her heartbreak over the delayed response, saying, “I will never get the opportunity to see Kaleiah fulfill every parent’s dreams of graduating or walking down the aisle on her wedding day.”
Civil rights attorney Ben Crump, representing the family, stated that Kaleiah’s death was preventable and that her story must serve as a “teachable moment” for schools to act swiftly in medical emergencies.
