Train Kills Man With Dementia, Aides Charged With Neglect: Report

LANHAM, MD — Authorities said they charged two Prince George's County aides last Friday after their resident was struck and killed by an Amtrak train. Officials identified the accused workers, who each face one count each of neglect of a vulnerable adult, as:

• 65-year-old Dorothy N. Nwaneri of Bowie
• 61-year-old Fatmata Bella Bangs of Riverdale

An incident report explained that Nwaneri was the owner and assisted living manager at Able Hands Assisted Living, located in Lanham at 8701 Crandall Lane. Bangs was a home health aide at the facility, the write-up mentioned.

The press release alleged that Bangs was the only staff member working when 65-year-old Frank Riddick Jr., a resident with dementia, wandered off between the late evening of Feb. 2, 2020 and the early morning of Feb. 3, 2020. The train hit Riddick at 5:06 a.m. on Feb. 3, 2020, authorities noted. Officials accused Bangs of sleeping during her shift when Riddick left the site.

The report informed that the case will be prosecuted by the Medicaid Fraud Control Unit of Maryland Attorney General Brian Frosh's office.

These charges are only accusations, Frosh wrote. The suspects are presumed innocent unless proven guilty, the attorney general added.

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