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DPD probing disabled student's death

Posted at 5:55 PM, Jun 01, 2016
and last updated 2016-06-01 18:52:48-04

Tuesday, May 24th was "just a normal day."

Michael Carr, a 19-year-old epileptic teen made his way to Jerry L. White Center High School in Detroit. The school is a haven for disabled students; students like Carr, who was prone to 3 seizures a day.

"Its a challenge, a hard challenge," says his father.

He and his parents had a special bond.

"He loved everybody and they loved him," said Zachary Carr. "He just was a good kid. Had this little challenge other kids didn't have. We were his best friends."

Then the call came on that Tuesday.

"They told me to go to the hospital. I got to the hospital before he arrived and when I got there, they were on top of him pumping him," he says.

Their son, who's disability would cause him to choke unless his food was cut into pieces, had choked on his lunch-time sandwich.

The usual teacher who supervised his care was absent according to his parents. They say substitutes, apparently unaware of his needs, were on that day and somehow turned their backs when he needed help the most.

"Who was there, why wasn't they there," he asks.

Michael's parents want answers to that simple question.

"Who was in the class, what time the nurse got called. I need that explanation so I can close my heart," says mother Michelle Carr.