Third lawsuit filed in fatal school bus crash


              FILE - In a Tuesday, Nov. 22, 2016 file photo, a school bus is carried away, in Chattanooga, Tenn, from the site where it crashed on Monday. Attorney Amanda Dunn says she anticipates bus driver Johnthony Walker will plead not guilty if a grand jury indicts him. He's charged with five counts of vehicular homicide. Police say another count will be added. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey, File)
FILE - In a Tuesday, Nov. 22, 2016 file photo, a school bus is carried away, in Chattanooga, Tenn, from the site where it crashed on Monday. Attorney Amanda Dunn says she anticipates bus driver Johnthony Walker will plead not guilty if a grand jury indicts him. He's charged with five counts of vehicular homicide. Police say another count will be added. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey, File)

The mother of a child who was injured in the crash of a Hamilton County school bus has filed a lawsuit against the school bus company and Johnthony Walker, the driver of the bus.

The bus was transporting 37 students from Woodmoore Elementary School when it crashed into a pole and flipped over, killing some students and injuring more.

In the complaint, attorneys allege that Walker was grossly negligent because he was driving at an excessive speed and lost control of the bus, causing it to flip over. They claim that Durham, the bus company that hired him, was also negligent in hiring and supervising Walker.

Joseph Fried and Michael Goldberg filed the lawsuit on behalf of Shanquatta Byrd, whose daughter suffered a severe brain injury in the crash.

The attorneys are suing for punitive damages "as shown to be fair and appropriate at the trial of this case."

The firm previously handled a case for two families of Georgia Southern nursing school students who were killed in an collision with a tractor trailer in 2015.

"This case has similarities to the Georgia Southern nursing student cases in that we believe the problem is much bigger than just a negligent driver." Fried said. "We believe that corporate negligence is very much at issue and we intend to get to the bottom of it so this does not happen again."

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