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Gramma Real Deal
posted (February 6, 2020)
Last night you saw the cops remove a woman from the Channel 7 building to take her to the police station. She came to our office seeking an interview about her 8 year old grandson who had been knocked down. You saw the cops took her away before the interview could be concluded. Well this morning we tracked her down to find out how the boy is doing. Cherisse Halsall has more:

Yesterday we brought you the story of Carolette Gideon a concerned grandmother who came to Channel 7 to have her voice heard over an accident involving her 8 year old grandson Dijon Dawson. We caught up with her this morning and she told us what went down yesterday after the cops took her away.

Carolette Gideon, Concerned Grandmother
"After being at the police station yesterday I was told by Mr Briceno that he is not going to arrest and charge the lady even though I'm requesting court action for my eight-year-old grandson, but then if this lady is not being arrested or charge there is no claim at the insurance with no accident this child will not be helped anyway with no medical expense because this woman is not being charged this woman is just pushing us around and around and around,and around, you know, why? This is an eight year old child no justice for my grandson. He can just get knocked down in the street like a dog really. I want justice for my grandson who ever is in charge of these police needs to get behind them."

Dijon's mother is concerned about what the boy's head injury could mean for him moving forward.

Princilla Edwards, Dijon Dawson's mother
"He's really in pain. He stays in that chair all day and just lays down. So every minute he says his head is hurting."

Reporter
"What is the Cat scan saying so far?"

Princilla Edwards, Dijon Dawson's mother
"Well we have to get the money to do that you know, that's what we're waiting on."

"He won't be able to go to school right now until he heals up and then he'll be behind and then that type of hit you never know how you could be affected in the future because it's his head."

That scenario is not one that the woman known as the Real Deal was about to allow. As she told us yesterday, Carolette is a saleswoman, you may have seen her riding her food cart on the George Price Highway but she isn't one to be pushed around, and, truth be told, she may have taken her quest for justice a bit far yesterday.

Carolette Gideon, Concerned Grandmother
"He has 8 stiches in his head. I have all the pictures in my phone. He has a scar on his hand and blood is coming through his nose now."

We reached out to representatives from Grace Primary upper school for a comment on the Dijon Dawson's accident. The school's position is that Ms. Gideon's concerns are a police matter. They say that while a member of their staff was directly involved in the incident it is not a matter for the school. Their direct involvement was only forced yesterday when Carolette Gideon barged onto the compound and began a series of quote: "Belligerent behaviour, banging on classroom doors and hurling curse words during class time." That's when another member of staff called the police.

The teacher in question also prefers to remain silent on the matter. She says she is using the proper legal channels to deal with the situation but remains 100% committed to providing Dijon Dawson with whatever he needs to aid his recovery.

That guarantee, however, isn't satisfactory to his grandmother and she's prepared to offer evidence she collected herself to prove that her grandson should be compensated for his injuries

Carolette Gideon, Concerned Grandmother
"This is what I understand from the accident. I was at home doing some stuff in the kitchen and they yelled to us that Dijon got in an accident, Dijon got knocked down so we ran outside and when we came out he was already in the teacher's vehicle but I noticed that she had a flat tire. Her front tire was flat because she ran onto the sidewalk. So I ran out into the street and I flagged down another vehicle. That's when it stopped and then my daughter and a neighbor came out with the baby and put him in the other vehicle and took him to the hospital. I waited until the police came and then I was with the teacher all the while no problem. We waited until police came, they came and interviewed her got the name of my grandson, his age, his date of birth and they were leaving so I asked them, i'm not trying to be disrespectful or bossy or anything like that but shouldn't you secure this area where this skid mark is and where this blood is take some pictures or measurements or something they told me that that wasn't necessary so I pulled out my phone and I started to take my own pictures."

While the outcome of the accident and justice for Dijon Dawson remain uncertain, the little boy can rest in the knowledge that his grandmother fiercely defends him if not always in the most conventional ways.

The good news is attorney Steve Perera saw our story and swooped in to try and assist Carolette Gideon and her family. And he's made significant headway, arrangements are being made for the vehicle insurance company to cover the child's medical costs. We'll have more on that tomorrow.

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