Girl May Lose Eye After Fight On School Bus

DADE CITY - A 13-year-old girl and her family were praying Tuesday that she would regain her sight after a boy on her school bus stabbed her in the eye with a pen Monday.

"We are hoping God sees fit for her eye to be OK," the girl's grandmother Marjorie Simmons, who adopted D'Andrea Simmons when she was 10 months old, said. "Right now, it's not a pretty picture."

D'Andrea had emergency surgery at Lakeland Regional Medical Center on Monday to repair damaged tissue in layers of her eye and was scheduled to meet with specialists today to find out the extent of her injuries, Marjorie Simmons said. It was unclear whether she would be able to see again through her left eye or whether she would have to have the eye removed. D'Andrea was taking antibiotics to ward off infection.

Simmons and her husband have 10 adopted children, including an 18-year-old daughter who was blinded in one eye after a car accident in 2006.

"That was enough," Simmons said.

According to Pasco County Sheriff's Office reports, a 14-year-old boy had been taunting D'Andrea earlier in the day. Witnesses said the boy tripped her on the way to school and again on the way home, reports said. The boy then began teasing D'Andrea, who was sitting in front of him on the bus, and she slapped him. He then stabbed her in the eye with a pen he was holding.

Witnesses said D'Andrea was visibly shaken and in pain when she arrived at her bus stop about 3:30 p.m. Her eye was red, inflamed and had fluid draining from it. She ran home when she got off the bus, and a family member called 911, reports said.

The boy later told investigators he has trouble controlling anger but did not mean to stab D'Andrea, reports said. When told of her injuries, however, he said, "Good. She should have kept her hands to herself," according to reports.

Detectives said the boy became upset when he was told he was being arrested on charges of aggravated battery and would be sent to a juvenile assessment center.

Centennial Principal Tom Rulison said Tuesday that the incident was a "Level 3" violation of the student code, the highest level and punishable by an extended suspension or possibly expulsion.

Rulison could not recall another incident as serious as Monday's at the school. He is expected to make a recommendation to the school board on how the boy and possibly the girl should be disciplined.

He also called parents via an automated system to inform them of the incident.

"I called the parents to let them know and to try to emphasize safety, not only at school, but on the school bus as well," Rulison said.

Simmons and her husband drove their children to school the several years to keep them away from the "drama" that often happens on school buses, she said. They decided to give the bus a try this year after their children were reassigned to Centennial Middle School, which is farther from their home. The price of gas was cutting into their family budget.

"We thought it would save us some money," she said. "Now, I don't know whether I will let her ride any more. You don't expect this. You think they're safe. ... He didn't just stick her in the eye. He stabbed it. We are hoping and praying she has some sight in that eye."