by Heather Graf
NASHVILLE, Tenn. - A mid-state mom is demanding answers, after she says her special needs son came home from school, with a painful injury: his two front teeth broken off at the gum line, and no explanation as to how it happened.
Mercreshia Greer's 16-year-old son, Oxtavious, attends Pearl Cohn High School.
She says his disability prevents him from being able to speak, so he can't communicate to her about how his teeth were damaged.
"As soon as he got off that bus, I noticed something was wrong with my child," she said. "At that point, I got on the phone and tried to contact Pearl Cohn, to figure out what had happened, because when he left, his teeth were perfect and fine."
When she couldn't get through to the school, Greer called Metro Police and filed an incident report.
"I don't know if he was hit, if he fell, or what, and he's not able to tell me what happened," she said.
The frustrating thing, she said, was that no one from the school notified her of Oxtavious' injury.
"My son has a one-on-one. That one-on-one is supposed to be with him at all times, while he's at school. So there's no excuse why I didn't find out," she said.
A spokesman for Metro Schools told NewsChannel 5 that the teachers at Pearl Cohn were not aware of Oxtavious' injury until the very end of the school day, which is why they didn't immediately contact his mother.
We're told the principal is now investigating and getting statements from his staff, but they have not yet pinpointed when or how Oxtavious got hurt.
Greer met with school leaders on Friday morning, but wasn't satisfied with the explanation she was given.
"I'm in fear of his safety, because I don't know what happened," she said.
She has pulled Oxtavious out of school, until she gets some answers. She's also worried, because he's in a lot of pain, and it could costs thousands of dollars to repair his teeth.
Metro Schools tells NewsChannel 5 they hope to know more by early next week.
Email: hgraf@newschannel5.com
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