Woman throws drink at child with Down syndrome at Taco Bell

A 69-year-old Michigan woman could face assault and battery charges after she dumped her beverage on a boy with Down syndrome at a Taco Bell restaurant, ABC reports. 

The child’s mother, Andrea Ramos, said she still isn’t sure what her 8-year-old son, Isaiah, did to provoke or upset the woman. 

“He was quiet, he wasn’t doing anything that I noticed. The lady turns around and was like ‘can you stop?’ He looked at her confused, he didn’t know what he did,” she said.

After exchanging a few words, Ramos said the situation escalated.

“She had a cup in her hand and I watched her take the lid off and she chucked her drink at the back of my son’s head,” Ramos said.

“I was like ‘stop, he doesn’t understand; he has Down syndrome.’ Then the woman looked at Isiah and said, ‘so, you’re stupid, you’re an idiot.’ “

Ramos said she followed the woman outside, took a picture of her license plate, and called the police. 

“I came back in and I sat down and was just holding him, rocking him because he was crying. I didn’t take him to a real nice restaurant; he didn’t ruin their meal. They could have moved or they could have asked me to move him,” Ramos said.

As a result of the incident, Isaiah hasn’t asked to go back to Taco Bell and his mom hopes this hasn’t scarred him for life. 

“I’m really hurt that a grown woman would treat an 8-year-old, even if he didn’t have a disability, I’m really upset that anyone would do that to a child,” she said. 

Police said they interviewed witnesses and were able to identify the woman by tracking her license plate. The case has now been submitted to the city attorney to determine whether the woman will be charged with assault and battery.

Contact Caitlin Lilly at clilly@reviewjournal.com. Find her on Twitter: @caitiesmith