Mother who threw sons off bridge was turned away from psychiatric facility

WoodysGirl

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Khandi Busby, whose bail was set at $2 million, remains jailed on charges of injury to a child and attempted murder.
Dallas County Sheriff's Office

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March 25, 2008, 6:05PM
Boys thrown off Dallas bridge remain in foster care
Their mother, who's in jail on charges she injured her sons, was turned away from psychiatric care the night before the incident, family says

By JEFF CARLTON
Associated Press

DALLAS — A judge issued an order Tuesday keeping two boys whose mother is accused of throwing them off a highway overpass in foster care.

Outside the courtroom, new details emerged about their mother's mental decline, with family members saying she was bipolar, off her medication and had been turned away from a psychiatric center the night before the incident near downtown Dallas.

The 8-year-old boy, who was on life support, is in critical condition in the hospital, but is "improving daily," Marissa Gonzales, of Child Protective Services, said.

He has a broken arm and other injuries, his aunt said. His 6-year-old brother is already in foster care.

Their mother, Khandi Busby, remains jailed on charges of injury to a child and attempted murder. Her bail was set at $2 million.

Witnesses said she threw her sons on March 12 from an overpass 22 feet onto Interstate 30 traffic lanes during morning rush-hour traffic, then jumped over herself.

John Turner, Busby's father, said he witnessed his daughter throw the boys over the railing before leaping after them. The whole incident took about four seconds, he said.

Busby tossed the older brother first, then the younger and "then she went over head first," Turner said. "I was speechless."

Turner said his daughter was diagnosed as bipolar last year and had recently stopped taking her medication. The night before the incident, he tried to get her committed to a psychiatric center but was turned away because she didn't have proper insurance coverage.

"Things happen, people get depressed and sometimes if you don't know how to bounce back and you don't have the support you need, you just lose it," said Busby's sister Khalilah. "She was out of her mind."

The judge's temporary custody order keeps the boys in foster care under the authority of CPS. A status hearing on their custody is scheduled for May 27.
 

theebs

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Insurance companies are the devil. The biggest crooks in the world.
 

big dog cowboy

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That's just a sad story. I really hope everything turns out allright for all parties.
 

PosterChild

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theebs;2012515 said:
Insurance companies are the devil. The biggest crooks in the world.

Seconded. And they rip off both beneficiaries and providers.

But there is too much info missing here. Was she evaluated by a clinician at the facility, and did they determine she was not imminently homicidal/suicidal? Was she referred to another facility? If yes, why was she not taken there where presumably her ins. would be accepted? If she was in crisis she had to be seen. Or was it determined that her mental distress was not of an urgent nature? Seems highly unlikely.

We haven't heard anything from the facility in question and aren't likely to get just a whole bunch for obvious reasons...obviously, though, big mistakes occurred.

I would guess that they did refer her to a phy hosp for 72 eval and she never got there for whatever reason. They probably should have held her for medical transport.
 

peplaw06

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So I see the insanity defense is being set up.

Look I don't like insurance companies any more than the next person, but claiming insanity because of bi-polar disorder? If the actions are bizarre enough, of course the person is going to be a little crazy. And her actions definitely fit that bill. I just don't necessarily believe she should get a slap on the wrist for it.
 
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