Inset: Jenna Menias. Background: The Frankfort, Ill., area where Jenna Menias was allegedly struck and killed by a distracted school bus driver (WLS/YouTube).
The family of a 6-year-old Illinois girl has filed a lawsuit against her school district, alleging she was fatally run over by a substitute bus driver moments after getting off the bus to walk home.
Jenna Menias, a second grader at Grand Prairie Elementary School in Frankfort, died Sept. 8 after she was struck by the bus while crossing in front of it, according to her family.
The lawsuit names Jenna’s school district and the district responsible for operating the bus. It claims that years of “disregard for the safety of children on this bus route” contributed to her death, family attorney Daniel Kirschner said.
“It culminated on this day,” Kirschner told the Chicago Tribune. He said “numerous residents” had complained about the route and expressed concern that it was not safe for children.
“Oftentimes children are let off quite a distance from their house, as was the case here,” Kirschner said. “Children of a very young age, as was the case here.”
According to the family, Jenna was crossing in front of the bus when the driver began moving again. The vehicle struck her and then ran over her with its rear tandem wheels. Police investigation records obtained by local CBS affiliate WBBM classified the crash as “preventable.” Police have not filed criminal charges, though the driver received a citation.
A police report obtained by WBBM states that the driver looked away from the roadway and became distracted as Jenna attempted to cross. Video from inside the bus and from another bus traveling behind it allegedly shows the substitute driver steering with one hand while holding and reading a route map with the other.
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The report says the driver looked into the rearview mirror at children aboard the bus and at the map. He allegedly closed the door, pulled in the safety stop arm and began driving forward. Six seconds after Jenna exited, the bus struck her.
WBBM reported that the driver obtained his school bus license in July, roughly two months before the deadly crash. Police said it was his first time driving Jenna’s route.
“More than horrifying, it’s infuriating,” Kirschner told WBBM. “And, that’s not just on the driver. That’s an institutional failure.”
Kirschner said Jenna’s family had repeatedly asked District 157-C, her school district, to allow bus drivers to drop children at their driveways directly in front of their homes. The district declined those requests, according to the family.
The family said the district’s latest explanation was: “Due to route timing and efficiency requirements, we are unable to provide individual house stops.”
Frankfort School District 157-C and Lincoln-Way Community High School District 210, which operated the bus, declined to discuss the investigation when contacted by WBBM and the Tribune. Representatives described the incident as a tragedy and offered their “deepest sympathies” and “sincerest condolences” to Jenna’s family, WBBM reported.
Frankfort police have also declined to comment, reportedly citing an ongoing investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board.
The post Little girl had just 6 seconds before school bus driver lifted safety stop sign, ran her over after she stepped off and went to cross street: Family first appeared on Law & Crime.
