Inset: Jenna Menias. Background: The Frankfort, Ill., area where Jenna Menias was allegedly struck and killed by a distracted school bus driver (WLS/YouTube).
The family of a 6-year-old Illinois girl has filed a lawsuit against her school district, alleging she was run over and fatally injured by a substitute school bus driver just seconds after getting off the bus to walk home.
Jenna Menias, a second grader at Grand Prairie Elementary School in Frankfort, died Sept. 8 after she was allegedly struck by her school bus while crossing in front of it, according to her family.
The lawsuit names Jenna’s school district and the district that operated the bus. It alleges that years of “disregard for the safety of children on this bus route” contributed to her death, family attorney Daniel Kirschner said.
“It culminated on this day,” Kirschner told the Chicago Tribune. He said “numerous residents” had previously complained about the route and expressed concerns that it was unsafe for their children.
“Oftentimes children are let off quite a distance from their house, as was the case here,” Kirschner said. “Children of a very young age, as was the case here.”
Jenna was allegedly crossing in front of the bus when the driver began moving again. The vehicle struck her and then ran over her with its rear tandem wheels. Police investigation records obtained by local CBS affiliate WBBM classified the crash as “preventable.” Police have not filed criminal charges, though the driver received a citation.
A police report obtained by WBBM says the driver looked away from the roadway and became distracted as Jenna attempted to cross. Video recorded inside the bus, along with footage from a bus traveling behind it, allegedly shows the substitute driver steering with one hand while holding and reading a route map with the other.
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According to the report, the driver looked into the rearview mirror at children on the bus and at the route map. He allegedly closed the door, pulled in the bus’s safety stop arm and started forward, striking Jenna six seconds after she stepped off.
WBBM reported that the driver obtained his school bus license in July, only two months before the fatal crash. Police said it was his first time driving Jenna’s route.
“More than horrifying, it’s infuriating,” Kirschner told WBBM. “And, that’s not just on the driver. That’s an institutional failure.”
Kirschner said Jenna’s family had repeatedly asked District 157-C, her school district, to have bus drivers drop children at their driveways, directly in front of their homes. The district repeatedly rejected those requests, according to the family.
Jenna’s family said the district’s most recent explanation was: “Due to route timing and efficiency requirements, we are unable to provide individual house stops.”
The two districts named in the lawsuit — Frankfort School District 157-C and Lincoln-Way Community High School District 210, which operated the bus — declined to comment on the investigation when contacted by WBBM and the Tribune. Representatives described the incident as an “accident” and offered their “deepest sympathies” and “sincerest condolences” to Jenna’s family, WBBM reported.
Frankfort police have also declined to comment, reportedly citing an ongoing investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board.
The post Little girl had just 6 seconds before school bus driver lifted safety stop sign, ran her over after she stepped off and went to cross street: Family first appeared on Law & Crime.
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