1 severely injured, 1 charged after reported assault at People Inc.
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BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) -- One person was left severely injured after being assaulted inside of a transport van two weeks ago at People Inc. in the Town of Tonawanda, according to a police report obtained by WIVB News 4.
The assault, first reported by WBEN, occurred around noon on April 1 at the People Inc. located at 169 Heritage Road. According to the Town of Tonawanda police report, officers responded to a report of an unconscious female, who was identified by staff as a resident of People Inc., laying in the back parking lot.
People Inc. staff said she was attacked by another male resident, the report said. The victim went into cardiac arrest, which is when an officer performed CPR to revive her. She reportedly went into cardiac arrest again while she was being transported to ECMC and was revived again with CPR.
According to the report, the victim suffered a broken neck and "it did not appear likely to hospital staff that she would survive the injuries."
The male resident reportedly admitted to repeatedly smashing the victim's head against the window, pulling her hair and biting her "because he was mad at her." He was placed in ECMC's emergency room without incident, the report said, and said in an interview that "it was an accident."
The male resident was charged with first-degree assault due to the severity of the injuries and the risk he posed to "himself, the public, and the employees/residents at his group home," police said. He was arraigned before a judge and remanded to the Erie County Holding Center.
"Our deepest sympathies are with the family of a person we serve who recently sustained serious injuries following an incident with a fellow person served," People Inc. said in a statement to News 4. "We care deeply for all of those we provide for and take the health and safety of every person we serve very seriously. It is our greatest priority to provide safe and high-quality services every day. To protect the persons involved and their loved ones, People Inc. cannot comment any further while we continue to work closely and cooperate fully with authorities investigating this incident."
According to police, there have not been additional reports regarding the reported assault in over a week.
Katie Skoog joined the News 4 team in April 2024. She is a graduate from the University at Buffalo. You can view more of her work here.