POMPANO BEACH, Fla. – Deputies said a driver caused more than $20,000 worth of damage after driving through the gates of a South Florida school.
There were 12 children with special needs inside the Bright Horizons School in Pompano Beach with seven employees when it happened.
“That is something that you never heard of,” said campus monitor Joseph Philemon Jr.
Shattered glass covered the floor on the campus of the Bright Horizons School after a reckless driver sped right onto school grounds Friday, plowing through glass doors, gates and railings.
“In today’s world, that is very frightening,” said Vanessa Stratton, the grandparent of a Bright Horizons student. “Obviously the kids here are special needs, so the thought of them even kidding to protect themselves it is not a natural reflex for them.”
Philemon, who was working on the campus when it happened, described the chaos to Local 10 News.
“She came in, she drove through the gates right here and she drove around the back of the school,” he said. “When she got to the back of the school, she started doing donuts on the track back there.”
Tire marks are still visible on the school’s basketball courts. It’s where Broward Sheriff’s Office deputies learned the driver was doing donuts before speeding down the school hallway, hitting unoccupied wheelchairs and nearly running over an employee who told investigators he was forced to jump out of the way.
“She drove through the school and ended up driving through the hallway at least going 40 to 50 miles per hour, and once she came out to the end of this hallway, she drove out,” said Philemon.
Deputies arrived to arrest Tiffani Madias, 48, of Pompano Beach, who they said was behind the wheel.
According to an arrest report, before crashing into the school, she “held up a middle finger to (a) surveillance camera.”
The incident has left parents to wonder why she did this, and why - they say - they weren’t notified of what happened.
“I think that an email should’ve gone out to all the parents,” said Stratton. “We should’ve been made aware. I think they need better security measures.”
Local 10 News reached out to the school district, which said that summer school was not in session on the day of the incident, that instead, a private vendor was using the facility.
That vendor, the district said, did notify the parents of the 12 students who were present at the time of the incident.
No injuries were reported.
Madias, charged with aggravated assault with a weapon, felony criminal mischief and burglary, is being held behind bars after being given no bond by a judge.