The lawsuit, filed earlier this month, alleges the bus driver fell asleep.
Filed in Texas earlier this month, the lawsuit is seeking USD $5 million per plaintiff and alleges the crash was the result of the gross negligence of coach line RM Transnational LTD., FlixBus Inc. and driver Isaac K. Otuoyo “for failure to operate the bus in a safe and prudent manner.”
The crash resulted one death, a 74-year-old Montreal woman, and 11 injuries out of a total of 23 people on board at the time, including the driver. The lawsuit currently involves two plaintiffs — a woman from Ottawa and a man from Whitehorse — but more may be added in the future, lawyer Edward Jazlowiecki of Connecticut-based Jazlowiecki & Jazlowiecki LLC told The Gazette on Thursday.
“It’s a very unfortunate accident that was very preventable, and my people suffered and will suffer into the future,” Jazlowiecki said. “That’s why we brought the suit on their behalf, to try to get justice for their injuries and keep this from happening in the future, because this happens all too often with buses, plains, trains.”
The crash occurred just before 1 p.m. on Interstate 87 in Lake George, Warren County, about 80 kilometres north of Albany. The bus left the Gare d’autocars de Montréal at 9:10 a.m. and was scheduled to arrive in midtown Manhattan at 5:45 p.m., with stops planned in Plattsburgh, Albany and Ridgewood, N.J.
The lawsuit takes issue with the following: that the defendants allowed their bus to travel with only one driver on board; that the bus did not have a device to alert a dozing driver to wake up; that they failed to hire drivers without sleep and/or sleep apnea issues; and that they failed to properly train the driver on what to do if unable to drive the bus safely.
“Any and all other acts of negligence and gross negligence will be specified as discovery progresses,” the documents say.
On Thursday, New York State Police Trooper Stephanie L. O’Neil said that the investigation into the crash is ongoing and “no further information is available at this time.”
When it comes to the driver specifically, the lawsuit alleges he failed to act responsibly “by failing to pull over when he knew he was fatigued and sleep deprived,” which resulted in the chain of events that led to the crash.
“My people were sitting close enough to him that they saw him fall asleep,” Jazlowiecki said.
They’re seeking damages “because of their pain, suffering, loss of income, future earnings, future medicals and their loss of enjoyment of life,” he added.
The documents note the plaintiffs suffered serious mental anguish, including post-traumatic stress disorder.