- Family members blames Ricks Institute for the death of their daughter
By. Jerromie S. Walters
Monrovia, Liberia, December 19, 2022: The family of Willvette Angel Nagbe, a female student of Ricks Institute who died on a school trip on Tuesday, December 13, 2022, has attributed their daughter’s death to the school’s unwillingness to address her medical need when she needed it the most.
The family debunked claims by the school’s administration, justifying that the late student was not ill prior to her arrival on the school’s campus. They think that what happened was sad and wrong, and they say that Willvette Angel Nagbe’s school let her down.
“The ones she spent most of her days with.” The people to whom she was entrusted to mold her mind for a better future, which she did not have the chance to get because someone decided that it was not a good idea for her to be taken to the nearest hospital or clinic for medical attention when her friends noticed that she was not feeling well, let her down.
Willvette Angel Nagbe, according to them, attended all of her classes the week before the trip, and she displayed no symptoms of illness or complained of any illness to any of her guardians.
“Angel was dropped off on the Ricks campus at about 6:30 a.m. on Sunday, December 11, 2022. At about 5:00 p.m. on the same Sunday, December 11, 2022, Madam Nancy Zuahdyu, the primary guardian of Angel, called to check in on her when she was informed by a friend who was also on the trip that Angel was not feeling well. Madam Nancy promptly requested to speak with the supervisor who was assigned to the kids on the bus. Madam Nancy instructed the said supervisor to take Angel to any nearby clinic or hospital, and she would be with them once she knew the hospital or clinic.
Moreover, they narrated that following the first time Madam Nancy placed the call, which is assumed to have been around 5:15 p.m.–6:00 p.m., several other calls were made by Madam Nancy to ascertain how Angel’s well-being was, but after additional calls were made, the supervisor and the bus driver allegedly refused to answer.
Willvette Angel Nagbe’s family also stated that Madam Nancy tried several other times, including waiting for the bus at the Brewerville Store, but the driver allegedly drove away despite her presence on the main street.
Additionally, they narrated that Madam Nancy and other family members got a motorcycle and chased the bus conveying the students, but to no avail, and upon arriving on the campus, she was allegedly prevented from entering the bus until all the students disembarked the bus.
“At this point, Rev. Edwin Dorley, Vice Principal for Student Affairs and Religion, the school nurse, Madam Nancy, and other family members embarked on the vehicle of Rev. Edwin Dorley, who drove them to the Redemption Hospital in New Kru Town, Bushord Island. Upon arrival at the hospital, the health practitioners on duty checked for vital signs, but all vital signs were unresponsive. Willvette Angel Nagbe was pronounced dead on arrival (DOA), and the family was also informed that she had died several hours before her arrival at the hospital.
The Nagbe family asked the Liberian National Police and other relevant authorities to start a homicide investigation right away into the death of Willvette Angel Nagbe. They also asked the administration of Ricks Institute to give the Liberian National Police the staff members who were on the bus so they could start the investigation. The Nagbe family believes that their daughter’s life could have been saved if they had taken her to the nearest hospital.
