Two Louisville City School parents have filed a lawsuit against Louisville City Schools and several district employees, alleging their nonverbal autistic preschool son, Oliver, was left restrained and unattended on a school transportation van for nearly three hours last year.
Bryson and Kaella Bezon filed the civil complaint in Stark County Common Pleas Court through attorneys Julie A. Jakmides and Jeffrey Jakmides of Jakmides Law Offices in Alliance.
Named as defendants are the Louisville City School District Board of Education; Superintendent Michele Shaffer; Transportation Director Douglas Haines; Director of Special Programs Justin Haren; North Nimishillen Elementary Principal Melanie Davis; substitute bus driver Timothy L. Young; and district substitute employee Jennifer Matson.
According to the lawsuit, 3-year-old Oliver was secured into a five-point harness on a district transportation van at approximately 11:50 a.m. on Aug. 28, 2025, before being transported to North Nimishillen Elementary School.
The complaint states all other children were unloaded from the van between 11:57 a.m. and 11:59 a.m., but Oliver allegedly remained strapped inside the vehicle unnoticed.
According to video linked within the lawsuit, Young remained stopped from 12:02 p.m. until 12:12 p.m. before allegedly exiting the van and going inside his personal residence, leaving Oliver allegedly alone on the vehicle from 12:12 p.m. until 1:19 p.m.
The video also alleges there is a 58-minute jump in footage because the van was turned off between 12:21 p.m. and 1:19 p.m.
According to the timeline outlined in the video, Young then continued high school drop-offs between 1:39 p.m. and 2:08 p.m. while Oliver allegedly remained on the van.
The video further alleges Oliver fell asleep between 2:09 p.m. and 2:25 p.m. before another child was strapped into a seat next to him at approximately 2:26 p.m. without staff noticing he was still there.
According to the video, Oliver was finally noticed by a teacher at approximately 2:32 p.m.
The video also appears to show employees entering and exiting the van and speaking with Young while Oliver remained restrained in the back of the vehicle.
According to the video, Young appeared shocked after Oliver was discovered and repeatedly said, “I’m sick,” while apologizing. The video also appears to capture Young saying, “I had him in the van all day.”
A staff member is also heard in the video saying, “This kind of stuff happens, honestly.”
The video further appears to show a staff member telling Oliver, who is nonverbal, that he should say, “Hey, I’m here!”
Another staff member later asked Young if he was okay, according to the video. Young allegedly responded in a distressed voice, “No, I had a kid on here all day,” before adding, “They never took him off and I forgot to check.”
The complaint states Oliver, who is autistic, nonverbal and on an individualized education plan, could not independently exit the vehicle or summon help.
The lawsuit alleges the child remained on the van while Young continued route operations, stopped at a private residence, later transported other students and eventually returned Oliver home.
The Bezons allege the district failed to properly train and supervise employees responsible for transporting special-needs students and ignored warning signs days before the Aug. 28 incident.
According to the lawsuit, a separate transportation issue occurred Aug. 26, 2025, when Oliver allegedly was not returned home after school. The filing claims the mistake was discovered only after a van aide attempted to release the wrong child to Oliver’s mother.
The lawsuit contends district officials failed to implement adequate corrective measures after that incident.
The filing also accuses the district of destroying or altering key video evidence after receiving notice to preserve records connected to the incidents. Attorneys for the family claim original footage from Aug. 28 was either deleted or overwritten and that the remaining version was manipulated to the point it could not be smoothly played.
The plaintiffs are seeking compensatory damages exceeding $25,000, punitive damages, attorney fees and court-ordered policy changes related to student transportation safety.
The complaint cites Ohio transportation regulations requiring school bus drivers to inspect each seat at the end of a route and prohibiting drivers from leaving students unattended on vehicles except under limited circumstances.
Included with the filing is a district-wide message sent by Shaffer on Aug. 28, 2025, acknowledging that a preschool student remained on a transportation vehicle after school because procedures were not followed. In the statement, Shaffer said the child was “safe and unharmed when discovered” and that the district would review procedures and retrain transportation staff.
The lawsuit argues the statement minimized the severity of the incident.
In a statement provided to Jordan Miller News, Shaffer said the district is aware of the lawsuit and is reviewing the complaint with legal counsel.
“Because this involves an ongoing legal matter and concerns student privacy protected by federal and state law, the district cannot comment further on the specific allegations at this time,” Shaffer said. “The safety and well-being of our students remain our highest priorities.”
