Somerset County Jury convicted Defendant Amanda Davila, age 28, New Brunswick, N.J., of second-degree Endangering the Welfare of a Child

SOMERVILLE, N.J. – On January 13, 2025, following a weeklong trial, a Somerset County Jury convicted defendant Amanda Davila, age 28, New Brunswick, N.J., of second-degree Endangering the Welfare of a Child. The State was represented by Assistant Prosecutor Michael McLaughlin and Assistant Prosecutor Bridgett Dudding, with the assistance of Litigation Paralegal Maria Ducca. Sentencing is scheduled for March 7, 2025, at which time the defendant faces up to ten years in New Jersey State Prison.

On July 17, 2023, the defendant was employed as a bus monitor by Montauk Transportation for a bus route to the Claremont School in Franklin Township. In that role, she was responsible for the safety of the victim, Fajr Williams, a 6-year-old disabled girl who was wheelchair bound and a passenger on the bus. Testimony revealed that the victim was properly strapped in her wheelchair by her older sister before leaving the house to get onto the bus. The surveillance video from inside of the bus showed that defendant failed to properly anchor the victim’s wheelchair to the floor of the bus and failed to use the shoulder and lap belt. During the bus ride, the victim slid down in her wheelchair and was strangled to death by her wheelchair harness. The video further showed that defendant sat in front of the victim instead of across the aisle from her and that defendant used her cell phone with ear buds to scroll through Instagram, listen to Apple music, and send/receive thirty-four text messages during the bus ride instead of checking on the victim. Testimony revealed that defendant received six years of safety trainings that emphasized a no cellphone and no earbuds policy. Additional testimony revealed that defendant was trained to frequently check on the students in her care, to sit across from wheelchair bound students, and to always use a shoulder and lap belt with students.

The State would like to thank the Franklin Township Police Department and the Investigative Division of the Somerset County Prosecutor's Office.

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