The parents of a Brandeis University student who was killed in a shuttle bus crash last year have filed a wrongful death lawsuit in a Massachusetts court against the transportation company and driver.
The crash killed Vanessa Mark and injured the 26 other students, as well as the driver, as the bus returned to the campus in Waltham from a hockey game at Northeastern in Boston on the night of Saturday, Nov. 19. Mark was described as an active and cherished member of the Brandeis community.
Lawyers for Mark's parents filed the lawsuit against Joseph's Transportation, of Medford, and the bus' driver, who worked for the company, in Suffolk Superior Court on Friday.
The lawsuit alleges that the driver was going nearly twice the speed limit on South Street when the bus jumped a curb and hit two trees. It also says the driver was overworked, violating rules about how many hours one person can log in designated time periods.
"Joseph’s Transportation either didn’t know or didn’t care that its driver violated hours of service laws, disregarded safety rules, and drove recklessly,” attorney Clay Robbins III said in a statement. “If they had performed simple due diligence, the driver never would have been allowed behind the wheel, and Vanessa Mark would still be alive today.”
Joseph's Transportation didn't immediately respond to a request for comment from NBC10 Boston, and didn't respond to requests for comment from The Boston Globe.
There have been no criminal charges announced in the case.
