Vandals hit Middletown school buses

MIDDLETOWN — Parents scrambled to get their children to school Monday morning after 17 of the 18 school buses parked at the high school were disabled, the police and school officials said.

Vandals yanked the valve stems from both front tires of all but one bus in the high school’s back lot, Middletown police said. A manager for First Student, the company that provides bus service to the schools, noticed the buses at an odd angle just before 6 a.m., found 34 flat tires and notified facilities director Edward Collins.

Linda Savastano, assistant superintendent of schools, said the district placed automated calls to more than 4,000 parents and staff members early Monday, saying the buses were not running but students were still expected to get to school.

By 1:30 p.m., the flats were fixed and buses began their afternoon rounds. A second automated call let parents know their children would be getting home the usual way.

Police Lt. Robert S. Nutt said the police are investigating. Anyone with information about the vandalism is asked to contact the detective division at (401) 846-0029 or the anonymous tip line at (401) 842-6516.

Just a few of the district’s 2,300 students got a bus ride to school because the bus that takes students to the Bradley Center in the middle and high schools wasn’t parked with the district’s other buses, Collins said. Also affected were Middletown students who are bused to the vocational program at Rogers High School in Newport.

The buses in the high school lot were undamaged when they were last seen at 3:30 p.m. Sunday, Collins said.

–– Kate Bramson and Donita Naylor

Warren man’s death investigated

WARREN –– The police are investigating the death of a 24-year-old Warren man who was found having trouble breathing on Metacom Avenue Saturday night and died shortly afterward at Rhode Island Hospital.

The police have identified the man as Nicholas Nelson and say they believe his death was accidental, Lt. Joseph Loiselle said Monday.

The police and rescue crews performed CPR on the man when they were called to Metacom Avenue north of Kickemuit Avenue at 7:39 p.m. Saturday, Loiselle said. The police spoke with a relative of Nelson who was in the area, who helped them piece together what may have happened.

The police are awaiting results of an autopsy, which the state medical examiner’s office performed Monday.

On Saturday night, the police issued an alert to area police departments, seeking a vehicle that had been in the area. They’ve located that vehicle and interviewed people who were in it, Loiselle said.

–– Kate Bramson