Authorities have yet to release what caused the death of a 7-year-old Cincinnati Public Schools student with disabilities on a school bus nearly two weeks after she died.
Roselawn Condon School second-grader Ngone Talla, who was nonverbal and used a wheelchair, was found Sept. 16 "not breathing" aboard the bus by her mother and sisters, according to Cheikh Ndiaye, owner of Northside restaurant Darou Salam. Ngone's mom has worked at Darou Salam since 2015, Ndiaye said.
Upon discovering her daughter unresponsive on the bus, Ngone's mother alerted her father Abdoula Talla, who was not present, who then called emergency services, according to 911 audio.
Ngone was transferred to Cincinnati Children's, where she was pronounced dead, the Hamilton County
Coroner's Office told The Enquirer.
The student's life was honored in an Islamic funeral service Sept. 21, where her teacher, Lauren Borcherding, class aide, Marlene Tucker, friends, family and fellow members of the Senegalese community gathered.
In the days since, the student's two older sisters have returned to school, Ndiaye told The Enquirer, as Ngone's parents recuperate at their Northside home. But answers concerning how the 7-year-old died are still outstanding.
Here's what has and hasn't been confirmed in relation to the student death.
Is there a cause of death confirmed?
A formal cause of death had not yet been determined as of Sept. 29. Hamilton County Coroner Dr. Lakshmi Sammarco told Enquirer media partner Fox19 that Ngone's death appeared to be natural but she was looking into it.
The coroner's office previously told The Enquirer the incident doesn't appear to be a homicide or suicide.
Her teacher and classroom aide at Roselawn said Ngone was her usual, silly self on Wednesday, the day of the incident.
"She on Wednesday had a beautiful, beautiful day," her second-grade teacher, Borcherding, said. "We did a lot of work with her with clapping and peekaboo things she was working on and she just had a great time with it. She was having a great day."
Have criminal charges been filed?
As of Sept. 29, Cincinnati Police spokesperson Brad Underwood had not responded to The Enquirer's questions about whether charges will be filed in relation to Ngone's death.
First Student, the contractor of the school buses used by CPS, said in a Sept. 17 statement that it is "fully cooperating with the local authorities and the Cincinnati Public School District as they conduct a thorough investigation."
Underwood told The Enquirer there are no updates to the investigation as of Sept. 29.
Will the staff aboard the student's bus be fired?
CPS previously told The Enquirer there was a driver and a "monitor" aboard the bus the day of Ngone's death. But the district does not know the monitor's official title or whether they were filling in as a substitute, referring questions to First Student since they are the contractor's employees.
First Student did not respond to questions prior to publication about whether the personnel involved in the incident were placed on leave or terminated.
The district has the right to request First Student to remove employees "deemed unsuitable for the performance of services," per the district's contract with the bus company, set to continue until June 30, 2027.
Is there video footage from inside the school bus?
The district previously told The Enquirer that it did not know whether there was any video footage of the incident. If there were video, it would be in the hands of First Student, CPS said.
Cincinnati police have not released any video or body camera footage of the incident as of Sept. 29.
Who is Ngone Talla?
A member of Cincinnati's Senegalese community and second-grade student, Ngone was a joyful child, her aunt Adama Samba previously told The Enquirer.
She loved her classmates and going to school, Borcherding, who had been teaching Ngone since kindergarten, said after the student's funeral service.
"She enjoyed her people at school. We were her people. Her classmates were her people," Borcherding said. "We are going to be preserving all the amazing memories we have with her going forward."
The Roselawn teacher said Ngone's silly, bright personality shone through in the classroom.
"Oftentimes when you're nonverbal and nonambulatory, society doesn't think there's much there. And that's extremely ableist and untrue," the Roselawn teacher said. "She was amazing, she was really funny."
What is First Student?
With headquarters on Second Street in downtown Cincinnati, First Student provides transportation services at over 530 locations across the United States and Canada. It operates over 48,000 vehicles across North America and said it makes about 4.8 million student journeys daily.
In response to questions from The Enquirer regarding which districts in Hamilton county it serves, a representative for First Student said it does not publicly disclose its client list or details about individual client contracts.
CPS is nearing the end of a five-year agreement with First Student totaling over $5.2 million, per a service contract obtained in a records request. As of the 2022-23 school year, CPS contracts 119 vehicles from the company, including 23 buses with lift systems to accommodate students in wheelchairs.
The company advertises a six-day research-backed special needs training program for school bus staff, according to its website. However, a representative for the company told The Enquirer that CPS does not contract First Student for the special needs service.
In a Sept. 16 statement, First Student said it was "deeply saddened by the death of a student on one of our buses. Our thoughts and prayers are with the student’s family, classmates, school community and all those impacted as they navigate this difficult time."
Teporters Gillian Stawiszynski and Matthew Cupelli contributed.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Still no answers in death of Cincinnati student found on bus
