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Va. teacher on leave after room divider kills student

Police said the 9-year-old and a teacher pressed a button at the same time to open a motorized room partition inside of the gym.

FAIRFAX COUNTY, Va. (WUSA9) — A Fairfax County teacher was placed on administrative leave after a student died while in their care.

Police reported a motorized room divider crushed 9-year-old Wesley Lipicky at Franconia Elementary School on Friday.

His death is being called a “tragic accident” after suffering traumatic head injuries when he was caught between the partition and a wall.

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Lipicky was pronounced dead at the hospital.

“It is absolutely a tragedy. We don’t know how it happened,” Scott Brabrand, the Fairfax County Public Schools superintendent, said.

Police said the 9-year-old and a teacher pressed a button at the same time to open a motorized room partition inside of the gym.

It happened after school just before five o’clock when Lipicky was trapped between that divider and the wall.

He suffered severe head injuries and later died.

“We have safety protocols in place for the use of these doors. We’ll be reviewing those protocols,” Braband told WUSA9. “I don’t have all of those specifics off the top of my head around the specific mechanized door.”

The superintendent explained in order to activate the partitions two buttons have to be pressed and a key is used.

“Children should not be operating those devices,” Braband said.

The school district is temporarily prohibiting using electronic room dividers as they work to figure out what went wrong.

Brabrand said nothing like this has never happened before to his knowledge in county schools.

And while detectives say all of this was an accident, the school district could not give us specifics.

No charges are expected to be filed in the case, but the teacher involved was put on administrative leave until the school finishes their investigation.

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