SALYERSVILLE – There are now five civil suits filed surrounding the November 14 Rt. 40 bus wreck, which sent all 18 students on board, as well as the driver, to hospitals.
On Monday, November 14, just after 7:20 a.m., first responders were called to a bus wreck on KY Rt. 40 near the Tackett Bottom, where a Magoffin County Schools bus, driven by Wanda Bailey, went over an embankment, striking a utility pole and landing on its passenger side. All occupants and the driver were taken to hospitals for treatment, with seven students and the driver remaining hospitalized for at least a week. Many of the students and the driver sustained serious injuries, some which are reportedly expected to have long-term effects from the wreck.
The newest case was originally filed in February in Madison County, where the law office is located, and recently transferred to Magoffin County Circuit Court.
Attorney Rodney Davis with Davis and Haymond, PSC, of Richmond, filed a civil lawsuit against the bus driver and the Magoffin County Board of Education for the parent of three of the children who were on the bus that morning.
Similar to the other lawsuits related to the bus wreck, Davis alleged that the bus driver, Wanda Bailey, “operated the school bus in such a negligent manner, grossly negligent manner, negligence per se, and/or reckless disregard for the lives and safety of her passengers or others, as to cause the school bus to leave the roadway, strike a telephone pole, and tumble over a cliffside, thereby causing [students’ initials] severe bodily injuries.”
The lawsuit also notes that the Magoffin County Board of Education owned and maintained the school bus involved in the wreck and employed the bus driver.
Davis asks the judge for a judgment against the defendants for an amount “to be that which is determined as being fair and reasonable by all the evidence,” for past and future mental and physical pain, suffering and inconvenience, permanent impairment of the children’s abilities to earn money and past and future medical expenses, as well as miscellaneous expenses, punitive damages, attorney and court costs, as well as a trial by jury.
Now 11 of the 18 students who were on the bus in the November 14 wreck are represented with the five civil cases. Important to note, these are all civil lawsuits in Magoffin Circuit Court, not criminal cases. Claims made in these cases are allegations only, with no court ruling verifying or negating any of the accusations at this time. No one has been criminally charged at press time in relation to this bus wreck.
A preliminary hearing is set for next Thursday, at which time the court is expected to consider consolidating the cases into one.
