DA: Allentown student pushed teacher down set of bleachers
ALLENTOWN, Pa. (WPVI) -- A 16-year-old girl is accused of pushing a teacher down a set of bleachers during a pep rally earlier this month at Dieruff High School in Allentown, Pa.
The Lehigh County District Attorney said the girl is facing a felony count of aggravated assault for the incident on Nov. 6.
Sophomore Abdel Rodriguez says his English teacher, Mary Matzo, has been out all week after the incident at last week's pep rally.
"I was upset because Ms. Matzo's such a nice teacher. I don't know why someone pushed her down the stairs for no reason," he said.
Investigators say the girl used her forearm to shove the 51-year-old teacher, who was trying to control a group of students descending the bleachers.
Matzo stumbled and fell down the steps to the floor. She then tried to take the student's ID card to identify her, but the girl refused to hand it over, leading to a struggle.
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The girl then allegedly punched the teacher in the left shoulder.
"That's when the teacher grabbed her ID and she was like, choking her with the ID! And the girl reacted and she said, 'get off of me,' you should be touching me,' and she continued to choke her - and so the girl hits her in the shoulder really hard," said junior Jaelyn Rosario.
The teacher suffered injuries to her back, shoulder, arm and right jaw. We spoke to a student who was in the school nurses office after Matzo was injured.
"She walked in and she was crying and everyone rushed to her like, what happened? And she was hysterical," said junior Shernys Ryan.
A juvenile detention hearing is scheduled for Monday.
The president of the Allentown School Board says the student will be expelled for the rest of the school year, citing a zero tolerance policy for violence in schools.
