TULSA- State inspectors say an 84-year-old woman was left on an assisted living facility bus for more than 28 hours before her body was found in late August.
Now, the victim's daughter is filing a lawsuit against the facility while the district attorney is considering possible criminal charges.
The Tulsa police wrapped up its investigation weeks ago, the case has been submitted to the district attorney's office. A spokesperson says the case is still under review.
Linda Williams shared more than smiles with her mother Mary Schelcht, they also shared the same birthday.
"This will be my first birthday without her, she was going to be 85," Williams said.
Williams is a nurse and Mary's only child.
Williams says for the most part her mother received excellent care at Brookdale -- an assisted living facility in Midtown-- until a bus trip with several residents on the last weekend of August.
"I don't feel like that leaving my mother on a bus for two days would be considered quality care," she said.
It was Williams who helped her mother get on the bus and checked with the driver to make sure he knew Mary was there and to take good care of her.
The family's attorney says what made it more horrific-- was that Williams was the one who discovered her mom on the bus after a search of the facility came up empty.
"She walks out there only to find her mother is laying in the stairwell of the bus so she obviously had try to get out the bus [that] was locked, so she couldn't get out," said attorney John Thetford.
According to a report filed by the State Department of Health, the facility neglected to provide supervision to prevent Mary’s death. Temperatures that weekend reached 95 degrees.
Williams says the facility managers tried shifting the blame to her.
“They've not been very kind and their accusations that they thought she was with me then. John didn't remember her being on the bus,” Williams said.
A spokesperson for Brookdale says they haven't seen the lawsuit and have no comment.
The Oklahoma Department of Health’s report says the facility's director implemented several changes in response to the state inspection- including requiring bus drivers to have a commercial license- in this case the driver did not. They are also re-training employees on transportation and resident check policies.
A facility spokesperson wouldn't tell us if the employees named in the suit had been disciplined.
Stay in touch with us anytime, anywhere.
Download our free app for Apple and Android and Kindle devices.
Sign up for newsletters emailed to your inbox. Select from these options: Breaking News, Severe Weather, School Closings, Daily Headlines and Daily Forecasts.
? Story Content (0)
