Connecticut Officials Investigate Fatal Jump from Ambulance

Diego Maitan, 17, died when he jumped from a moving ambulance on Interstate 95 in Stamford last Friday. He suffered severe head injuries and was pronounced dead at Norwalk Hospital.

Child Advocate Jeanne Milstein and the DCF are conducting separate investigations into the incident.

``This is a fatality. My office has already begun our own investigation into this tragedy,'' said Milstein, who wants additional oversight from the Child Fatality Review panel.

Maitan, who had an arrest record and several mental health issues, was referred to the training school in Middletown by a state judge, DCF spokesman Gary Kleeblatt said. He spent nine months at the facility.

After being released from the training school, he received intensive therapy at his home in Stamford before being admitted recently to an undisclosed hospital after a serious episode, Kleeblatt said. He declined to describe the problem.

Maitan was being taken by ambulance Friday afternoon to a ``more appropriate setting,'' Kleeblatt said, when he jumped out of the vehicle near Exit 9.

Patricia Squires, executive director of Access Ambulance of Stamford, which was transporting Maitan when the incident happened, declined to comment because of the ongoing state police investigation.

Kleeblatt said DCF is concerned about the circumstances surrounding Maitan's death.

``This youth was properly discharged in November,'' Kleeblatt said. ``This is a tragedy that reflects the great depth of distress that can be experienced by young people with mental health needs.''

Maura Maitan said her son did well at the juvenile training school and ``was OK'' when he was discharged in November.

``He had great treatment. There are no complaints against the place,'' she said. She declined to comment further.

Milstein said her office is concerned about the well-being of youths discharged from the troubled juvenile facility in Middletown.

``We are reviewing the situation of each boy who has left the training school, whether a good transition process is in place,'' the child advocate said.

Besides Maitan's death, Milstein said another at-risk youth discharged from Middletown has been charged with murder.

State Senate President Pro Tem Donald E. Williams Jr., D-Brooklyn, is calling for a full investigation of the new state policy of depopulating the training school.

``We've seen a severe drop (in population). It's gone down drastically, more than 50 percent,'' Williams said. ``The children who are being released have the potential of doing harm to themselves or others, and we have an obligation to them and our communities to do the best we can to prevent that.''