An employee at a Massachusetts school for youth with mental health and behavioral issues died after a student allegedly kicked her in the chest, authorities said.
A 14-year-old girl has been charged with assault and battery causing serious bodily injury in connection with the incident, according to the Bristol County District Attorney’s Office.
Meadowridge Academy in Swansea, Massachusetts.
WCVB
The “physical interaction” occurred Wednesday night at Meadowridge Academy, a therapeutic residential school for students ages 12 to 21 in rural Swansea, according to the district attorney’s office.
Amy Morrell, 53, a member of the school’s direct care staff, and other staff were trying to restrain the teen, who authorities said had been trying to leave a dorm building without permission, when the student allegedly kicked her in the chest, according to the district attorney’s office. “Shortly after being struck,” Morrell collapsed, the office said in a statement Thursday.
School staff attempted CPR and called 911, and Morrell was transported to an area hospital, the district attorney’s office said.
Officers from the Swansea Police Department and the Massachusetts State Police Detective Unit assigned to the Bristol County District Attorney’s Office responded to the school, officials said.
The student was charged with assault and battery causing serious bodily injury based on the initial investigation and was arraigned Thursday morning in Fall River Juvenile Court, according to the district attorney’s office.
Meadowridge Academy is seen in Swansea, Massachusetts.
WCVB
Morrell, who remained hospitalized, was pronounced dead Thursday afternoon, the district attorney’s office said.
The investigation remains ongoing, authorities said. ABC News contacted the district attorney’s office on Friday for updates on the case, but has not yet received a response.
Morrell’s cause of death and manner of death have not been made public. A spokesperson for the Massachusetts Executive Office of Public Safety, which oversees the chief medical examiner’s office, told ABC News on Friday that it does not have any information to share at this time about the case.
The school said it is “deeply saddened” by Morrell’s death.
“We extend our deepest condolences to Amy’s family during this difficult time,” a school spokesperson said in a statement. “Support services and resources are available to assist students and staff as we grieve this tragic loss.”
Andrew Ferruche, a friend of Morrell, expressed his shock over her death in an interview with ABC affiliate Boston. WCVB.
“I couldn’t believe it when I got the call today,” he told the station Thursday.
“It’s just a tragic situation,” he said.
Ferruche remembered Morrell, who was from Riverside, Rhode Island, as caring and caring.
“She told me on more than one occasion that she loved what she was doing,” he told WCVB.
