One year after a UCSC bus crash, students file lawsuit against UC Regents
SANTA CRUZ, Calif. (KION-TV) -- Nearly a year after the tragic bus crash that took place on the UC Santa Cruz campus, three students are suing the University of California Regents, accusing them of negligence.
The crash killed the driver and left several students injured.
It was December 12th 2023, when a UC Santa Cruz bus crashed, killing bus driver Dan Stevenson and injuring several students, these students claiming the crash was caused by negligence.
"A handful of of of students were riding on an inner campus bus when it careened off the road, causing catastrophic injuries, causing life threatening and life altering injuries," Ilya Filmus Attorney a partner at Infinity Law Group said. "This lawsuit was filed to bring justice for three students who were on that bus and who were catastrophically injured."
The lawsuit claims the bus driver was driving too fast the night of the crash.
One of the plaintiffs even texted a friend before the crash, saying that the nighttime loop drivers have a death wish.
Now the plaintiffs argue that the university is liable for the actions of the driver.
"This accident took place on their property involving a bus that the University of California owns and maintains," Filmus said. "It happened as a result of. or driving by the driver and the regents as the employer for the driver are vicariously liable for any negligence that one of their employees commits It's our understanding that there wasn't a barricade on that road. There are no seatbelts on the bus. and so. the fact that this accident happened, suggests that more could have been done."
"Investigators concluded there was no evidence of any pre-existing mechanical conditions or failures of the bus that would have contributed to the crash or any direct evidence of any distraction," UCSC Scott Hernandez Jason said. "They concluded that the driver failed to provide sufficient steering to negotiate the left-hand curve, resulting in the shuttle colliding with the rock wall."
The law firm says that they are looking into this discovery.
While in the lawsuit, students are seeking damages for medical expenses and the emotional and physical toll the crash has taken on their lives.
"We don't want this to happen ever, ever again, parents send their kids to get an education and parents and the citizens of California expect that our students to be safe in the U.S. system and that did not happen here."
We did reach out to the UC Board of Regents for comment but they haven’t gotten back to us.
Meanwhile, the trial is expected to happen within the next two years.
