Indianapolis, Indiana – After eloping from her care home in Indianapolis, Dionna Scott was fatally struck by a car while strolling along U.S. 421 and Willow Road, just north of Zionsville, in April.
Scott had an intellectual handicap, according to her sister Lakeisha Thomas, and the day before she passed away, she eloped from the institution run by “Caregiver, Inc.” that was in responsibility of providing for her. Thomas claimed that her sister’s death was due to understaffing.
“My sister is not here anymore due to negligence,” Thomas said. “It’s very frustrating.”
After suffering a disability in a car accident as a child, Dionna Scott needed full-time care.
Thomas said that Caregiver, Inc., a Texas-based business with offices in Indiana, had received her family’s trust.
“My parents were no longer able to care for her physically, so she was placed in a facility where a staff was there 24 hours to care for her,” Thomas said.
Thomas claimed she is interested in learning the truth about the evening her sister was murdered.
Scott departed the Indianapolis house she shared with two other clients on April 22; it is unknown when or how. Thomas questioned the facilities and received contradictory answers. Her sister reportedly left about midnight or two in the morning. It’s not clear if the employees dialed 911.
Before being struck by an automobile at the crossroads of U.S. 421 and Willow Road just north of Zionsville, Scott traveled 6.7 miles. At St. Vincent Hospital, she passed away.
“I am being told different things,” Thomas said. “I am being told the staff was asleep. I am being told there were other clients at the house so the staff couldn’t leave, so the staff couldn’t go after my sister, meaning the house was understaffed. If there are three clients, there should at least be two staff members.”
Thomas claimed that her sister had a habit of eloping and had even done so the day before she passed away, albeit it was unreported.
“I am being told the reason incident reports are not being filed is that they do not want the state to come and investigate issues that they have, so they don’t follow protocol, policies, or procedures,” Thomas said.
Thomas claimed that Caregiver, Inc. had acquired the business that her family had initially trusted with the care of her sister. Prior to the death of her sister, she claimed, the standard of treatment had declined.
She claims that following the buyout, services were reduced and that employees neglected to follow medication schedules and leave people alone.
“In the daytime, they usually have two staff members,” Thomas said. “I was under the impression that they also have two at night, but I was told due to budget cuts, they haven’t been able to have two staff members at night, which is not the correct policy and procedure. That’s not what they signed in their contract.”
She wants other people to be aware of her sister’s story as Thomas looks for solutions.
“It’s sickening the things that I’m being told right now and I’m not only speaking up for my sister, but for others that can’t speak up for themselves,” Thomas said. “For the families that are afraid to speak up for themselves. The nonverbal clients can’t even tell you their needs. It’s horrible.”
According to Thomas, her family has suffered greatly as a result of this tragedy, which she claims might have been avoided with appropriate personnel.
“I’m very upset. They trusted these companies to take care of her and they failed to do their job so it’s very upsetting,” Thomas said. “We had a great relationship with my sister. We talked to my sister just about every day.”
Thomas and her family said Scott’s funeral was Friday and they will now start pursuing their options in the legal system.
