The couple responsible for transporting the boy Apollo Gabriel Rodrigues, 2, who died on Tuesday afternoon (14), in São Paulo, after being forgotten inside the school van, was arrested red-handed for intentional homicide, according to the SSP (Secretariat of Public Security).
The driver Flávio Robson Benes, 45, and his wife Luciana Coelho Graft, 44, who assists him, are hired by the São Paulo City Council to operate the TEG (Free School Transport). The case took place in Vila Maria, north of São Paulo.
The Civil Police were unable to say whether the couple presented a defense.
The boy was picked up at home by the couple around 7am to be taken to daycare, but was forgotten inside the vehicle in a parking lot. Yesterday, the capital of São Paulo recorded another day of intense heat, with thermometers recording temperatures above 37°C.
The child was forgotten inside the school van for at least eight hours. The boy was only found around 3:30 pm when the driver returned to the vehicle and found it locked.
The child was passed out, says the SSP, and was taken to the Vereador José Storopolli Municipal hospital, where death was confirmed.
The couple was taken to the police station. Grafit said he had a migraine and was feeling unwell and this may have compromised his attention. Her role is to take care of children during transport and check the list of people transported.
“I never thought about going through this. It’s very difficult knowing that I left my son in the station wagon thinking he was safe and went to work. I always arrived and my son was there. Today I arrived and my son wasn’t there. I will never again I’m going to see him,” Kaliane Rodrigues, Apollo’s mother, told TV Globo.
Exams were requested from the IML (Legal Medical Institute). The reports are being prepared and, once finalized, they will be analyzed by the police authority. The case was registered at the 73rd DP (Jaçanã).
In a statement, the Municipal Department of Education stated that it regretted what happened and that it provides support to the family members. “The Regional Directorate of Education is monitoring the case and the Support and Monitoring Center for Learning, made up of psychologists and educational psychologists, was called to assist the family.”
According to the ministry, the Free School Transport driver has already been disqualified and an administrative process has been opened to investigate the facts.
