Lawsuit: Woodmore employees say bus company responsible for emotional trauma

A wrecker removes the school bus involved in the November death of six Woodmore School students. A wrecker removes the school bus involved in the November death of six Woodmore School students.

By Zack Peterson November 17, 2017 1 min read

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Woodmore families march against bus company contract

Protestors march on the sidewalk along Market Street in front of the Hamilton County Courts Building. A march was held downtownon May 25, 2017 to remember the victims of the Woodmore Bus Crash and draw attention to Durham Transportation being retained as the contractor for the county's buses.

Protestors begin their march on the sidewalk along East 6th Street. A march was held downtownon May 25, 2017 to remember the victims of the Woodmore Bus Crash and draw attention to Durham Transportation being retained as the contractor for the county's buses.

Marcher select the signs they are go carryl A march was held downtownon May 25, 2017 to remember the victims of the Woodmore Bus Crash and draw attention to Durham Transportation being retained as the contractor for the county's buses.

Chattanooga Police Chief Fred Fletcher hugs LaTesha Jones, the mother of crash victim, Cor

Two-year old Layla Martin looks at the sign that she is to carry. A march was held downtownon May 25, 2017 to remember the victims of the Woodmore Bus Crash and draw attention to Durham Transportation being retained as the contractor for the county's buses.

A photo of crash vicitim, D'Myunn Brown is part of the necklace his mother, Diamond Brown, wears. A march was held downtownon May 25, 2017 to remember the victims of the Woodmore Bus Crash and draw attention to Durham Transportation being retained as the contractor for the county's buses.

An image of the Woodmore bush crash and one of it's victims adorn signs as people wait to march. A march was held downtownon May 25, 2017 to remember the victims of the Woodmore Bus Crash and draw attention to Durham Transportation being retained as the contractor for the county's buses.

La Tesha Jones holds a sign with the image of her daughter Cor'Dayja Jones on it. Cor'Dayja, nine years old, was killed in the Woodmore bush crash. A march was held downtownon May 25, 2017 to remember the victims of the Woodmore Bus Crash and draw attention to Durham Transportation being retained as the contractor for the county's buses.

In a pair of lawsuits filed Friday, Woodmore Elementary School employees say they suffered acute emotional trauma from last November’s deadly crash and want the bus company to pay for its negligence.

When bus 366 overturned on Talley Road with 37 children onboard, Stephanie Muhammed and other Woodmore employees rushed to Erlanger hospital to help first responders identify the students.

Muhammed, a computer-science teacher and one of the employees who filed a lawsuit, learned which of her students were dead or in intensive care. She led a prayer circle with some of the parents on their knees at the hospital. They pleaded for information about their children, but Muhammed could not share medical information, her suit says.

Neither could the second plaintiff, Alisha Bibbs, a secretary back at the school.

Both are now asking driver Johnthony Walker and his employer, Durham School Services, for millions of dollars in damages for their emotional trauma, guilt and suffering. Durham is the private company that provides most of Hamilton County’s school transportation needs.