Little girl annihilated by school bus, crushed under tandem wheels while crossing in front of it to walk home after family was denied driveway drop-offs: Lawsuit

The family of a 6-year-old Illinois girl is suing her school district after she was allegedly run over and fatally injured by a substitute bus driver just seconds after stepping off to go home.

Jenna Menias, a second grader at Grand Prairie Elementary School in Frankfort, died on Sept. 8 after being struck by her bus while trying to cross in front of it, her family says.

A lawsuit filed against Jenna’s school district and another district that operated her bus alleges that years of “disregard for the safety of children on this bus route” ultimately led to her death, according to family attorney Daniel Kirschner.

“It culminated on this day,” Kirschner told the Chicago Tribune, alleging that “numerous residents” have complained about how the route is run, saying they do not feel it is safe 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.”

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Jenna was allegedly crossing in front of her school bus to go home when the driver resumed moving, struck her, and then ran over the youngster with the bus’ rear tandem wheels. The crash was ruled “preventable,” according to police investigation records obtained by local CBS affiliate WBBM, but police have filed no criminal charges, only a citation.

A police report obtained by WBBM says the driver took his eyes off the road and was distracted while Jenna tried to cross. Videos from inside the bus and another bus traveling behind it allegedly show the substitute driving with one hand while holding and reading a route map in the other.

According to the police report, the driver can be seen looking in the rearview mirror at other children on the bus and at the route map. He allegedly closed the door, retracted the safety stop arm, and started moving forward, striking Jenna six seconds after she stepped off the bus.

The driver allegedly received his license to operate a school bus in July, just two months before the fatal accident, WBBM reports. This was the first time he was driving Jenna’s route, according to police.

“More than horrifying, it’s infuriating,” Kirschner told WBBM. “And, that’s not just on the driver. That’s an institutional failure.”

According to Kirschner, Jenna’s family had been asking District 157-C — Jenna’s district — to let bus drivers drop their children off at their driveway right in front of the home. The district repeatedly rejected these requests.

The most recent explanation, according to Jenna’s family, read: “Due to route timing and efficiency requirements, we are unable to provide individual house stops.”

Both school districts being sued, Frankfort School District 157-C and Lincoln-Way Community High School District 210 — the operator of the bus — declined to comment on the investigation when reached by WBBM and the Tribune. Reps called the “accident” a tragedy while extending their “deepest sympathies” and “sincerest condolences” to Jenna’s family, WBBM reports.

Frankfort police have also reportedly refused to comment on the case, citing an ongoing National Transportation Safety Board investigation.

The post Little girl annihilated by school bus, crushed under tandem wheels while crossing in front of it to walk home after family was denied driveway drop-offs: Lawsuit first appeared on Law & Crime.