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Other Recent Transportation Crashes
Jitney Bus Accident in West New York, New Jersey
On July 30, 2013, a commuter jitney bus careened out of
control on John F. Kennedy Boulevard East near 57th Street
in West New York, veering onto the sidewalk, striking a
lamppost. The lamppost crashed onto a baby stroller, fatally
injuring the eight month old baby girl lying inside, and
nearly smashing into her mother who was standing on the
sidewalk waiting for the traffic light to change so she
could push her daughter across the street. The bus continued
on striking a second lamppost, a traffic light, a tree and
four parked cars. Resuscitation efforts failed and the baby
girl died. The driver of the bus was indicted for vehicular
homicide, and is awaiting a criminal trial.
The firm was privileged and honored to have represented the
parents of the baby girl killed in this tragic incident.
Several lawsuits were filed as a result of the crash, and
Baumeister & Samuels prepared all of the pre-trial
discovery in what became consolidated litigation. Instead of
focusing solely on the driver’s reckless actions, the firm
thoroughly investigated the bus company’s hiring and
training practices, the maintenance of their commercial
motor vehicles, their compliance with the regulations
governing interstate commercial motor vehicle commerce as
set forth by the Department of Transportation and Federal
Motor Carrier Safety Administration, as well as the
background history of the driver. Our investigation revealed
that the bus carrier, owner, and driver flagrantly violated
many federal regulations, including the hours of service
rule which states a driver may drive a maximum of 10 hours,
after 8 consecutive hours off duty. The driver of jitney bus
had been dually employed by New York City Transit as a bus
driver. He had just come off duty from a nine hour shift for
the New York City Transit Authority at 2:00 AM the morning
of the crash, and reported to work for jitney carrier at
7:30 AM, a mere five hours later in clear violation of the
federal regulation.
Following two years of tireless and aggressive pre-trial
litigation, we were able to obtain a substantial,
confidential settlement for our clients.
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