Fourth and fifth lawsuits filed in Woodmore bus crash

Teddy bears, mementos, and balloons have been placed at the site of a fatal school bus crash on Talley Road on Wednesday, Nov. 23, 2016, in Chattanooga, Tenn. The makeshift memorial to victims of the Monday crash, which killed 6 Woodmore Elementary students and injured dozens more, has grown since the road was reopened Tuesday.
Teddy bears, mementos, and balloons have been placed at the site of a fatal school bus crash on Talley Road on Wednesday, Nov. 23, 2016, in Chattanooga, Tenn. The makeshift memorial to victims of the Monday crash, which killed 6 Woodmore Elementary students and injured dozens more, has grown since the road was reopened Tuesday.

The fourth and fifth lawsuits have been filed in connection with the Woodmore Elementary school crash that killed six and injured several more.

A seven-year-old boy, who will not be named, suffered "psychological injury" and pain suffering as a result of the Nov. 21 bus crash on Talley Road, one lawsuit says.

A second lawsuit says a 10-year-old girl "has suffered in body and mind" and now has extensive medical costs because of the accident.

Police say 24-year-old bus driver Johnthony Walker lost control while speeding down the two-lane road and swerved into a telephone pole and a tree.

The lawsuits name Walker, who also faces criminal charges of vehicular homicide, reckless endangerment and reckless driving, and say he failed to exercise caution and keep a proper lookout on the road.

But Durham School Services is also liable, the lawsuits say, because the Illinois-based corporation doesn't have policies in place to ensure that all bus drivers are properly trained, hired, supervised, investigated and disciplined.

Since 2007, Durham has provided the majority of school buses in Hamilton County and employed Walker at the time of the accident.

In both lawsuits, filed late Tuesday afternoon, attorney C. Mark Warren asks for punitive damages to deter Durham School Services from "similar conduct in the future."

Upcoming Events