Florida teacher intubated after alleged attack by 5-year-old student

Aspecial needs teacher at Florida's Pines Lakes Elementary School suffered terrible injuries that required hospitalisation after one of her students allegedly physically attacked her.

Trisha Meadows, a special needs teacher for 13 years, reportedly suffered injuries so severe that she had to be intubated. She was allegedly attacked by one of her students, a five-year-old boy, when he, along with a four-year-old, "began throwing things around the classroom and at the teachers, along with flipping chairs."

Other faculty members separated the students while Meadows took the five-year-old to a separate room to "cool down." However, it is believed that the child attacked her again because she radioed other staff that she needed support.

The incident happened on March 2 just before noon. Police from Pembroke Pines were called to the school to attend to a disturbance. The responding officer reported that the veteran educator was found "sitting on the ground against the wall" and "in a faint state." She had to be held up "as she was clearly weak and dazed."

That was when she started coughing and dry heaving. The officer then "laid her on her side and held her head up straight to maintain an open airflow and prevent possible choking." Suddenly, she lost consciousness.

"I attempted to get a response from (Meadows) by asking if she could hear me or feel me touching her arm to which I didn't get a response," the officer said in the police report obtained by People. She had to be rushed to the hospital where she had to be intubated because of her injuries.

Anna Fusco, president of the Broward Teachers Union, needs answers and action. She said this is not the first time that the student had attacked his teacher.

"To say this is unacceptable isn't strong enough. No one should have to go home to their family with a black eye, a broken nose, or a cracked head — real injuries that have happened. We don't get trained in how to go into combat with students or how to protect yourself against a chair or a bookshelf getting thrown on you," she told the publication.

Of the incident, Fusco said the child "actually ran and attacked and jumped" on Meadows "with his whole body weight." The teacher "fell and hit her head, which caused the severe injury and other bodily injuries" that required surgery.

"This should never have happened. Our school district knew about the level of violence this student possessed but the sense of urgency wasn't there from school's leadership or our district's leadership. Something has to be done so that he cannot cause this kind of damage to other students or to her again," she said.

Fusco explained that the teacher was not prepared to handle the situation especially since she had a room full of students to look after and she was also injured. The child reportedly flared and caught her off guard. Plus, teachers and staff at the school are also "not allowed to touch students."

Meadows has since been released from the hospital and "wants to get better and get back to work soon as she can." She wants to make sure first that the school is safe before she returns. As for the five-year-old, no arrests have been made yet and no charges have been filed with the State Attorney's Office, but he is unlikely to face charges because of his age.