'He was scared.' Wheelchair-bound student stuck after snow blocks accessible ramp
Dwayne Samuels depends on his wheelchair to reach the bus stop near his home. After the storm, snow blocked the ramp, making it difficult and dangerous for him to get to school.
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A 12-year-old boy who relies on a wheelchair to get to school was left stuck at his bus stop after a weekend snowstorm left an accessible ramp partially covered in snow.
Dwayne Samuels depends on his wheelchair to reach the bus stop near his home. After the storm, snow blocked the ramp, making it difficult and dangerous for him to get to school. The situation was especially alarming for Dwayne and his mother, Dinell, who both have a rare bone disorder that makes their bones extremely fragile.
"He was scared, not only for himself but for me because he's seen me fall in the past," Dinell said. "He's seen what's done to me. He knows what it does to him. We have different bones, we are not the average person."
Dinell said she was unable to move her son’s wheelchair through the snow on her own. With no clear path to the bus stop, Dwayne risked being unable to get to school until the bus driver stepped in to help.
"She actually pulled him to the bus for me, so I didn't have to worry about it," Dinell said. "I wouldn't have been able to push him. If the bus driver decided she didn't want to do it, he would've been stuck here and that's not fair."
Dinell also says snow buildup prevented the bus’s wheelchair lift from fully reaching the ground, creating another safety concern. She says this isn’t the first time they’ve faced problems after snowfall.
"Last time it happened when it snowed. I was lucky to get someone with a shovel right away outside," she said.
Dwayne and Dinell live at Renaissance Village, an apartment complex developed by Concern for Independent Living, which supports people with disabilities.
Concern for Independent Living tells News 12 it cleared sidewalks and other areas following the storm but admits the accessible ramp was only partially covered with snow.
They shared the following statement:
"We take concerns like this very seriously, particularly when they involve accessibility for residents with disabilities. The property in question was cleared following the snowfall, and the photographs provided by the resident show that the primary area had been plowed. That said, there was still snow remaining along the pathway that partially covered the accessible ramp.
After the snowfall, our Head of Property Management personally inspected the site to make sure all sidewalks were cleared. While the property did receive snow removal service, it is clear that we can and must do better—especially with respect to maintaining fully accessible routes at all times.
We are reviewing our snow-removal procedures to strengthen follow-up inspections and ensure that accessibility features such as ramps and pathways are completely cleared, not just passable. We are committed to improving our practices so that situations like this do not occur in the future."
