Massachusetts van driver charged after leaving disabled man in cold vehicle for two hours

From The Standard-Times:

NEW BEDFORD, Mass. — A city woman has been charged with abandoning a severely disabled man in a van for nearly two hours while she visited people in New Bedford and Fairhaven.

Kim Borges, 50, of 173 Cambell St. is scheduled to be arraigned Feb. 24 in Taunton District Court. She is charged with permitting abuse on a disabled person, court records said.

Police said Ms. Borges, a former bus driver for Community Connections, forgot a 24-year-old Fairhaven man, who has cerebral palsy, in a van that she parked in the Community Connections lot in Fairhaven.

The incident occurred on Dec. 29. The disabled man's parents called police after an hour passed since their son was supposed to have been dropped off at home. Police later found the man shivering in the empty van. His body temperature had dropped to 94 degrees, court records said.

Ms. Borges told police she became distracted while driving the man home from the Community Connections facility in Marion. She said she received phone calls from her daughter and a distressed client.

She also told police that the added stress of a new job also caused her to become distracted, court records said.

Contacted Tuesday by The Standard-Times, an emotional Ms. Borges, who has since been fired by Community Connections, said the incident "was very upsetting" for her, and added that she felt bad for the man's family. She would not comment further.

The man's father, Steve Sturgeon, told The Standard-Times that he and is wife became "terrified" when their son was not dropped off at home.

"It was an eternity not knowing where he was," Mr. Sturgeon said. "We were upset and scared."

The minibus was scheduled to arrive at the Sturgeons' home around 4 p.m.

After an hour passed, and not being able to reach anyone at Community Connections, Mr. Sturgeon called police.

Officers reached a Community Connections manager, who called Ms. Borges, court records said. Ms. Borges was at a boyfriend's house in Fairhaven when she received the call. She immediately went to the Community Connections lot, where she met with police and firefighters who already had arrived, court records said.

After she parked the van and left in her personal vehicle, Ms. Borges told police she visited two residences in New Bedford before going to her boyfriend's house.

Meanwhile, the disabled man, who is legally blind and cannot communicate, was left alone. According to court records, Ms. Borges apologized to police and the man's family, and claimed responsibility for the incident.

A court magistrate charged Ms. Borges last week after a closed-door hearing. The case was transferred to Taunton District Court because the disabled man's father is a court officer at New Bedford District Court.