First Lawsuit Filed Over Deadly FedEx Freight-Bus Crash
The first known lawsuit stemming from a crash between a FedEx Freight truck and a bus that killed 10 people earlier this month has been filed.
The first known lawsuit stemming from a crash between a FedEx Freight truck and a bus that killed 10 people earlier this month has been filed.
The $100 million negligence suit was filed in Los Angeles by the attorney representing the mother of a 17-year-old who was one of five students on board the bus that were killed when the FedEx truck crossed the median along a section of Interstate 5 north of Sacramento.
According to published reports, the suit names the estate of the FedEx truck driver and the company that owned the bus as defendants. It claims the bus lacked adequate exit doors that would have allowed those simply injured to escape the bus after a massive fire broke out following the crash. A total of around 40 people were on the bus.
Some eyewitnesses claim that the FedEx truck was on fire before the crash, but so far investigators have not said they have found evidence this is true. The lawsuit also alleges FedEx trucks have a history of catching fire from mechanical problems, driver error or improper cargo loading.
Three chaperones on board the bus were also killed along with the bus driver. The driver of the FedEx Freight truck was also killed.
Officials from the National Transportation Safety Board as well as California officials have been investigating the cause of the crash, but it has not been determined. A preliminary report from NTSB is expected in about three weeks.
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