Florida Mom Sues in Fatal US 301 Truck Crash with School Bus that Killed Teenage Girl
A Florida mom who pulled her own two children from a burning schoolbus hit by a semi truck on US 301 has filed a lawsuit in Ocala against the truck driver, the trucking company and an interstate freight company. The fatal truck accident occurred in Sept. 2008 on US 301 near Citra in Marion County, Florida, where the school bus had pulled over to let students get off. According to accident reports, a commercial semi trailer truck crashed into the rear of the parked bus, setting off a series of explosions.
Citra resident and mom Rhonda Arbuckle rushed to the scene and pulled two of her own children off the burning bus. But according to the truck crash lawsuit she filed in Circuit Court, when she went back into the bus to rescue "a lone remaining child," she was thwarted by "...a small explosion [that] increased the smoke and flames, making rescue impossible." Thirteen year old Frances Margay Schee died in the accident when the school bus and the semi truck burst into flames on impact.
Arbuckle has hired a truck accident attorney to pursue a count of negligence against truck driver Reinaldo Andujar-Gonzalez of Orlando and vicarious liability counts against trucking company Andujar Transport, Inc. of Florida and interstate freight commerce company Comtrak Logistics, Inc. of Delaware. She seeks damages for herself and her 3 children who were on the bus, one of whom had to be hospitalized in Gainsville with serious injuries.
Factors that may have contributed to the crash relate to both federal safety regulations for commercial trucks as well as Florida public safety regulations. According to preliminary accident reports, Gonzalez's truck experienced brake problems on Interstate 95 earlier in the morning of the crash and was taken out of service; it's unclear if the brakes were repaired before the truck crashed into the schoolbus. Gonzalez also told investigators he was using his cell phone before the truck accident occurred.
Parents have petitioned the School Board to discontinue the practice of school buses stopping on four-lane Florida highways to let students off. The Florida Highway Patrol continues to investigate this fatal schoolbus truck accident.
Lawsuit filed in bus-truck crash Ocala.com Nov. 6, 2008
Girl, 13, killed in school bus crash on U.S. 301 Ocala.com Sept. 23, 2008
Related Web Resources
Florida Highway Patrol: School Bus Safety Tips
