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Police Say Autistic Boy Died at the
Hands of His Caregivers
February 16, 2007
 A
young boy is dead and two state workers are facing charges.
The victim is a 13-year-old
autistic boy. Police say the child was inappropriately restrained by
two state health aides while being transported in a van in Colonie.
Police say 13-year-old Jonathan
Carey did not have to die. Now, his caretakers,35-year-old Edwin
Tirado and 32-year-old Nadeem Mall, are both facing second-degree
manslaughter charges.
Colonie Police Chief Steve Heider
says the two aides left the O.D. Heck developmental facility around
six o'clock Thursday night, with Jonathan and another 14-year-old
patient. Their plan was to take the boys with them as they took care
of some errands.
"They have vans assigned to the
center through the course of the day and evening," Chief Heider
says. "They will take these people into the mainstream...they will
take them to the malls, to parks, throughout the Capital District."
But during a stop at a the Wolf
Road Hannaford, Chief Heider says Tirado began to forcefully
restrain Jonathan, and Jonathan stopped breathing.
 Even
worse, police say, the two aides continued with their errand
running, making several more stops as Jonathan's condition worsened
in the back of the van.
"Nor did they render any aid to the
young victim at the time when he was obviously in medical distress,
nor did they attempt to contact anybody," the Chief says.
An hour-and-a-half later, Tirado
and Mall returned to the center with Jonathan's lifeless body.
Niskayuna paramedics quickly responded, but could not resuscitate
the boy.
Friday evening, a family friend
spoke to NEWS10 about Jonathan and the family's tragic loss.
"It really struck me how integral a
part of their family he was," says Patricia Staerker. "He was never
an outsider in any way, shape or form."
Officials have not determined the
exact cause of death, other than saying it was a result of the brute
force applied to Jonathan.
An autopsy will be performed on
Saturday.
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