Injury to 3-year-old child leads to woman’s arrest in Ansonia

ANSONIA, CT (WFSB) - A woman was arrested after a 3-year-old child suffered an arm injury in Ansonia.

Mary Durso-Smith, age 32, of New Haven, was arrested by warrant on Wednesday.

Ansonia police said the incident happened at the Mead School on March 25.

The child attended school at Mead.

According to Durso-Smith’s arrest warrant, she was a pre-K special education teacher who had been working at the school for about a year.

Ansonia’s superintendent confirmed that she was no longer employed there.

“The student suffered an arm injury that required surgical intervention,” Ansonia said in their report. “During the course of the investigation there was video of the incident which led the investigating officer to determine the incident was not accidental.”

Police said the video would not be released since the case is pending in court.

In the warrant, however, police noted that it was the principal of the school who reported the incident to them.

The principal said Durso-Smith originally reported that the child fell on the school’s playground, but that was not what surveillance video recorded.

According to the principal, the video showed the child going up a slide in the wrong direction and Durso-Smith dragging him off it by the arm.

The child’s arm appeared to dangle afterward.

The school nurse said the child appeared to have suffered a dislocated arm.

Staff at Yale New Haven Hospital, however, reported that the child suffered a fracture to the left lateral condyle of his humerus, which required surgery.

The video and the boy’s medical records were reviewed by DCF and a team of doctors at Yale New Haven who determined his arm was likely fractured when he fell, and then dislocated when he was dragged.

The attorney representing the family of the young boy say they are in shock.

“It was completely unexpected. Just one day he went to school and ended up in the hospital,” said Ed Walsh, Attorney.

He says the child has returned to school, but not without challenges.

“He’s doing it with an obvious physical disability at this point. He has had two surgeries so far. The family is concerned, because it’s likely he is going to end up with a permanent disability from this for the rest of his life,” Walsh said.

Walsh says the family plans to file a civil lawsuit against both the city and the district.

“They intend to file a civil action against the town and the Board of Education and the teacher,” he said.

Police requested a statement from Durso-Smith two days after the report. She told them her lawyer told her not to comment.

Police determined that there was enough probable cause to charge her.

Durso-Smith was charged with risk of injury and second-degree assault.

She was released on a $50,000 bond and given an arraignment date of Thursday at Derby Court.

A judge granted Durso-Smith a continuance until June 24 to find a lawyer.

She was asked not to contact the boy or his family.

She is currently out on bond.