Lawsuit Filed After Fatal Team Bus Accident in Oklahoma

A week and a half ago, the North Central Texas College softball team played in Oklahoma against Southern Nazarene University. As they were headed home after the game, an oncoming 18-wheeler veered across the median, slamming into the van carrying the team members. The truck, which investigators said showed no sign of braking or evasive action prior to the collision, sheared off one side of the van and caused it to roll, killing four girls and severely injuring several others.

Now, the first lawsuit has been filed in the case. The lawsuit is filed on behalf of Rachel Hitt, a 19-year-old NCTC student and softball player who was seriously injured in the September 26 crash. The lawsuit names the driver of the 18-wheeler, Russell Wayne Staley, and the trucking company that employed him, Quickway Transportation, Inc, as defendants.

The plaintiff seeks a jury trial and compensation in excess of $1,000,000. She is asking for compensation for medical expenses, physical pain, mental anguish, loss of earning capacity, impairment, disfigurement, and exemplary damages.

Staley, who was treated and released from the hospital following the accident told investigators he was distracted as he was reaching for a drink in the cab of the truck when he missed the curve, crashing into the team's vehicle.

The plaintiff's attorneys allege in the lawsuit that Staley was negligent in the following ways:

1. In failing to keep such a lookout as a person of ordinary prudence would have keptunder the same or similar circumstances.
2. In failing to timely apply the brakes of his vehicle in order to avoid the occurrencein question.
3. In driving his vehicle at a rate of speed that an ordinary and prudent person wouldnot have driven under the same or similar circumstances.
4. In failing to maintain his vehicle under proper control.
5. In failing to take proper evasive action.
6. In failing to yield the right of way.
7. In failing to maintain a safe distance between his vehicle and surrounding vehicles.
8. In failing to drive in his proper lane.

The lawsuit further alleges that Quickway Transportation, as Staley's employer, is liable in the accident, citing the doctrine of respondeat superior as well as negligent entrustment, negligent hiring and supervision, and proximate causation of negligence.

The investigation is ongoing to determine the reason Staley veered across the center line and crashed into the team van without braking, skidding, or taking evasive action prior to the collision.

Hitt's lawsuit is the first of what is likely to be many, with a reported 16 passengers on the team bus when it was hit, and with four girls dying of injuries sustained in the crash.

The accident highlights the dangers of distracted driving, and whether the investigation reveals that Staley was distracted by something as mundane as reaching for a beverage or by something more obviously dangerous, the accident serves as a tragic reminder that any distraction is deadly.