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The family of a 9-year-old student who suffered deadly injuries outside a D.C. public charter school last year is suing the school and its security company.
Kaidyn Green, 9, was hit by a car outside the KIPP DC Honor Academy, on Wheeler Road in Southeast, on Dec. 10, 2021. He was in Children鈥檚 National Hospital until February of this year and was rendered a quadriplegic; he was later discharged from a rehab facility but died June 2.
The lawsuit, filed against KIPP and LGC Security, as well as the driver and the owner of the car, says Kaidyn鈥檚 mother arranged with the school to pick him up early, at about 1:30 p.m. She was told to wait in the front office, and Kaidyn would be brought to her 鈥� the usual procedure, the lawsuit said.
But the suit claims that鈥檚 not what happened. Green was told his mother was waiting for him, but wasn鈥檛 taken to the office, the family says: Instead, he was 鈥渞eleased from his 4th grade classroom, then left unattended and unsupervised by employees.鈥�
Green didn鈥檛 know his mother was in the office, the suit says; he went out the back door 鈥� the usual spot for kids to exit at the end of the day 鈥� then 鈥渨alked unnoticed in excess of 143 yards around the outside perimeter鈥� of the school鈥檚 property to the front.
When he saw his mother鈥檚 car parked in front of the school, he looked both ways and tried to cross the street, but was hit by the car, the lawsuit said.
鈥淎ll people coming in or out of the school should come through the rear; the front entrance should be closed permanently,鈥� said Keith Watters, who is representing the Green family. 鈥淏ecause the rear takes you away from Wheeler Road and all that thunderous traffic going back and forth. They have the protocols for pickups and monitoring, they just have to enforce those protocols.鈥�
The lawsuit details three instances in which pedestrians were hit by cars in the immediate area, including two in the preceding two months.
鈥淥ur community continues to mourn Kaidyn鈥檚 passing and our thoughts are with his family and the classmates that knew him so well. Given the pending legal matter, we鈥檙e unable to say more at this time,鈥� a KIPP DC spokesperson said.
The suit is seeking a total of $50 million.
The D.C. police said the driver has not been charged, and that the case is still under investigation.
