Two employees of a suburban nursing home face felony charges in connection with the death of a 96-year-old woman, who died after being left inside of a van on a night when temperatures dropped well below freezing.
According to prosecutors, the resident was transported to an area hospital for medical attention on the afternoon of Feb. 2, 2021. Upon returning from the hospital, the bus driver is alleged to have failed to make sure that the woman, who was wheelchair-bound, was off the bus before parking it in a back parking lot for the night.
Later that evening and into the following morning, temperatures fell to approximately 22 degrees, according to prosecutors. The bus driver allegedly made an entry into the residential center’s log book that he had returned the woman to the facility.
At approximately 10 p.m. that night, the facility’s resident care manager was notified that the woman was not accounted for, but allegedly made no effort to try to find her.
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At approximately 10:15 a.m. the following morning, staff began to search for the woman, and found her still on the bus. Paramedics were called to the scene, and she was pronounced dead.
Charges have now been field against 63-year-old Bert Mongreig, who drove the bus on that February day, and 43-year-oild Navdeep Dhall, who was acting as the facility’s resident care manager.
Mongreig faces two felony counts of criminal neglect of a long-term care resident resulting in death. Dhall is charged with criminal neglect of a long-term care resident resulting in death and one count of criminal neglect of a long-term care resident.
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Both were arrested and taken into custody without incident. Bond was set at $50,000, according to the DuPage County State’s Attorney’s Office.
