A 15-year-old boy who died in Potomac in a landscaping accident had not attempted to enroll in Montgomery County Public School, according to a report released by the school system.
Michael Barrios of Wheaton died when he became entangled in a "bark blower" machine on May 18 in the 12400 block of Bacall Lane in the Stoney Creek Estates area.
According to police reports at the time, Barrios was asked by a co-worker to turn off the machine, and was then found entangled in it a few moments later.
Montgomery County Public Schools were criticized after reports that Barrios had been denied enrollment because of difficulty proving residency.
Schools officials said that Barrios's mother, Nidia Villeda, had begun the process to enroll her daughter in January of 2004. At the time, she indicated that her daughter had no siblings seeking to enroll.
Barrios was a U.S. citizen who had been enrolled in MCPS from September of 2000 to February of 2001. MCPS documents coded his withdrawal as a transfer to a school in a foreign country, according to school officials.
Maryland Occupational Safety and Health is continuing to investigate the case, said Linda Sherman, spokesperson for the agency.
<1b>—Ari Cetron