CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. (WSMV) – Jamie Horton described her 12-year-old son Hayden in a silly way.

She says her son has no problem making friends with anyone he meets, so he’s still trying to understand what happened to his son last month.

“He loves everyone,” Horton said. “He’s a really empathetic kid.”

Horton says her son was strangled for an unknown reason by a high school student on the school bus while returning home from school. He says the bus was stopped based on what his daughter told him.

“This was an experience you could never imagine,” Horton said. “He sent me a text and said a kid on the bus was confused by Hayden.”

Horton says the headlock lasted 14 seconds; That doesn’t seem like a lot of time, but in reality, it was enough to change one person’s life forever.

“When Hayden came home he had scratch marks on his neck and was upset but didn’t want to talk about it,” Horton said.

A week later, Horton drove with his son in the back of an ambulance to Monroe Carrell Children’s Hospital in Nashville. It was there that doctors discovered that Hayden had suffered multiple strokes that led to a single major stroke.

They say it was caused by a tear in the vascular muscle in his neck. Doctors say the tear can only occur as a result of bending or twisting.

“It’s almost like a nightmare every morning when you wake up,” Horton said. “You forget where you are, then you have to replay everything in your head over and over again. Having him not talk is probably the hardest thing.

Horton said the next thing he knew, Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office investigators and the Department of Children’s Services were coming knocking on the door. What shocked him most was when DCS investigators told him the details from the bus surveillance video.

“An adult on the bus commented, ‘Well, Hayden, you better get off too,'” Horton said. “This shook my world.”

As a result of the incident, not only are investigators at DCS and MCSO investigating what happened, but the Clarksville-Montgomery County School System is also investigating what happened. Two CMCSS employees have been placed on unpaid leave while the investigation continues.

“What kind of security is there on the bus if things like this are happening?” Horton asked. “If they are considered our children’s caregivers, they are carrying our children, not just one or two of them. There are more children on the bus than an ordinary teacher has in the classroom. They need to be able to handle any situation that arises.

Horton says he’s concerned about whether something like this has happened before. He says he wants to make sure nothing like this happens again.

“That’s what we expect,” Horton said. “Being able to talk to him, being able to hear him.”

The Montgomery County District Attorney said he was aware of the case but was waiting for the investigation to be completed before reviewing the case for possible charges.

Hayden’s next step will be rehab, which the family is still working on.

“He’s a kid, and kids are resilient, and Hayden is a warrior,” Horton said.

They are grateful for the support they have received so far from Hayden’s school and the community. They established a GoFundMe to help alleviate the costs associated with its care.

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