Family of Man Killed in Bus Accident Sues Company, Driver
Posted by
Jenny AlbanoJanuary 16, 2008 4:17 PMThe family of a man who was killed in a recent bus crash near Victoria is suing the bus owner, the operator and the driver of the vehicle. Pedro Mendez was killed during the accident that occurred on January 2 that seriously injured many other passengers. The bus was headed to Houston from Monterrey, Mexico.
The lawsuit, filed Tuesday in Harris County District Court, alleges three companies that owned, leased, maintained or operated the bus did not properly screen, test and qualify drivers, according to attorney Richard Mithoff, who is representing Mendez's family.
The owner of the bus is Capricorn, International Charter Services Inc., the operator is Transportes Chavez Inc., and the driver of the bus was Roberto Garcia Cruz.
The bus driver, Roberto Garcia Cruz, became sleepy while driving the bus that was carrying nearly 50 passengers. Cruz veered off U.S. 59 and when he tried to get back on the road he over-corrected, which caused the bus to tip over on its side. After the bus had overturned and come to a stop, a pick-up truck hit the bus' underside.
The lawsuit claims that drivers for the company were not properly trained, supervised, or prevented from driving while fatigued.
DPS has issued citations to Cruz for violating a commercial driver's license restriction and driver fatigue, both misdemeanors.
Mendez's wife and daughter were both on the bus at the time of the crash.
For more information on this subject, please refer to our section on Mass Transit Accidents.