Lawsuit calls Mars Area School District, bus company negligent
Five families filed a lawsuit Thursday, March 27, against Mars Area School District and its transportation company, A.J. Myers and Sons, claiming the two neglected to keep their children safe by employing a bus driver with a history of on-duty crashes.
The plaintiffs, eight Mars Area School District students, who are represented by their parents, claim a former bus driver was involved in three other crashes prior to the March 6 crash on Three Degree Road, which resulted in the driver’s death, according to the lawsuit.
The crash sent seven elementary school students and the driver, William “Bill” Miller to the hospital. Miller later died, the school announced March 13. The lawsuit said most of the students affected by the March 6 crash were diagnosed with, or suspected to have, a concussion, bruising and trauma, which have caused adverse effects on their sleep and well-being since then.
The plaintiffs, ranging from age 5 to 12, are seeking more than $105,000 in damages.
The lawsuit claims A.J. Myers & Sons was negligent by avoiding foreseeable risks by failing to ensure its drivers operated safely; entrusting Miller with the safety of children while driving the bus; and failing to control its driver after the district set bus routes, schedules and safety standards. The bus company failed to avoid foreseeable risks and failed to terminate the now late-driver, the lawsuit said.
The lawsuit states the transportation company allowed Miller to continue operations without increased training or reprimanding after three earlier crashes — one on May, 10, 2023 and another Sept. 6, 2023.
The plaintiffs argue in the lawsuit that the transportation company allowing Miller to operate the bus after previous crashes showed a reckless indifference to safety.
Two students mentioned in the lawsuit were not aboard the bus that crashed March 6 along Three Degree Road in Adams Township, the lawsuit said, but they were affected by the earlier crashes.
In the earliest crash detailed in the lawsuit, the plaintiffs claim Miller failed to properly execute a right-hand turn and hit a street sign on May 10, 2023. A photo of the sign is included in a lawsuit.
The lawsuit said a parent informed Miller of the damage when he stopped to pick up her children, and Miller acted in a “dismissing and uncaring manner.” The parent then told the district about the crash, according to the lawsuit.
In another crash on Sept. 6, 2023, the lawsuit said Miller was departing Mars Area Centennial School to bus students home when he rear-ended another bus, causing glass to break. All minors involved in the lawsuit were on the bus Miller struck, except one.
The lawsuit said despite the school district being informed of prior crashes, the district renewed its contract with the transportation company at a Sept. 12, 2023, board meeting for another five years. The board voted 6-3 in favor of the agreement, according to the lawsuit.
Another crash after that, on Oct. 31, resulted from Miller driving erratically and striking one or more mailboxes along Hammond Road in Middlesex Township, according to the lawsuit. Emergency services responded to evaluate the students after Miller parked in the Adams Township Municipal Building lot, and then, Miller struck another sign when pulling out, the lawsuit states.
Multiple parents contacted the transportation company and acting superintendent Adam Kostewicz to share their concerns, the lawsuit said. It further claims there were other incidents where Miller acted dismissive toward other drivers.
The suit was filed by attorney Timothy Wojton of Scanlon & Wojton on behalf of the children of Ronald and Jesslica Handgrove, Gesuele and Lisa Burello, Patrick and Samantha Cocoran, Kevin and Kerri Friess and Michael and Megan Waltenbaugh.
Mars Area School District transportation director Christina Smith declined to comment. Wojton also did not provide further information about the lawsuit. Attempts to reach A.J. Myers & Sons were unsuccessful.
