They waited nearly seven years for more heartache.
The parents of a severely autistic boy who bashed his head dozens of times while a bus matron yelled at him were stunned yesterday after they were awarded $100,000 for their son’s pain and suffering.
The parents of PJ Rossi had been seeking close to $5 million in damages for their son’s 2005 “bus ride from hell” – in which bus matron Connie Clark was secretly taped calling the then seven-year-old boy a “knucklehead” and yelling “Oww, shut up!” as he violently smacked his head.
“After all this time, this is the outcome?” the boy’s heartbroken dad, Paul Rossi told The Post last night. “It’s disgraceful, it’s absolutely disgusting.”
Jurors in the Brooklyn civil trial initially awarded PJ’s parents $200,000 and split the blame for the harrowing ride between the city and the Atlantic Express bus company, which employed Clark.
But Justice Herbert Kramer instantly junked the city’s share, dealing a further blow to the parents, who contended the city should have provided PJ with a paraprofessional and a not a matron for his bus rides to school.
“My son is not the same kid as he was before Sept. 29, 2005, and he may never be,” Rossi said.
“He used to run in cycles, and sometime go months without hitting himself,” he said. “Since that day he’s hit himself every day – every day for seven years.”
Lisa Rossi had planted a tape recorder in PJ’s backpack after noticing a bump on the head of her son, who cannot speak.
During the trial, jurors heard the jarring recording, in which the boy screamed and repeatedly pounded his head while Clark said, “All right, stop it now, PJ!” and “Shut up!”
“Every time I hear it, it takes my breath away,” said Paul Rossi, a retired NYPD detective.
Clark testified that she and bus driver Robert Fischetti – who could be heard on the recording offering the boy cupcakes – were not taunting PJ, and said she didn’t mean to call him a “knucklehead.”
“It just slipped out,” said the 54-year-old widow, who as a result of the ride was fired and last year took a misdemeanor plea to endangering the welfare of a child.
A spokeswoman for the bus company declined comment.
“We hope the trial brings closure to this unfortunate incident,” said Denyce Holgate, who handled the case for the city.
But Paul Rossi said the verdict creates more suffering for his family.
“My son can’t talk, but he knows things and he understands pain,” he said. “And he knows something very bad happened to him that day.”