Parents of bus crash victims to file lawsuit against district

MANATEE COUNTY — Eight families of students injured in a Jan. 5 bus crash have notified the Manatee County School District they intend to sue.

Manatee County School Board attorney John Bowen said under the state’s sovereign immunity statute, parties are required to notify the district about their intent to pursue legal action.

“We have six months to evaluate that and either tell them we’ll settle or we’re not going to pay,” Bowen said. “If six months goes by, and we don’t respond to them, then they can sue.

“We’re offered to pay all their expenses and everything so we recognize we are responsible,” he said, adding the district already has agreed to pay all medical expenses of students involved in the crash and does not plan to respond, at this time. “Those who haven’t gotten an attorney, we’re going to pay anyway. Those who got an attorney, we’re going to pay, but the attorney is going to get 25% (as per state statute).”

No details of what the lawsuits will include are available at this time, Bowen said.

The pending lawsuits stem from an incident in which Bus 560 from Braden River Middle School collided with a tractor-trailer on State Road 64 as it approached 66th Street Court East.

A Florida Highway Patrol report from the accident stated the driver of the bus, 68-year-old Charles Robert Orr, became distracted by a student on the bus and collided with a tractor-trailer that was stopped at a red light at the intersection. Upon collision, Orr’s legs became pinned in the wreckage, preventing him from being able to depress the brake pedal.

Orr steered the bus onto the north shoulder of the road, in front of Walmart, about one-quarter mile from the crash site. Students opened a side emergency window, and several jumped off the bus while it was slowly moving.

Bystanders helped stop the bus and calm students.

More than 20 students were taken to local hospitals to be evaluated and treated for minor injuries.

Orr was charged with careless driving by Florida Highway Patrol and is no longer employed as a substitute bus driver for the school district.

Contact Pam Eubanks at [email protected].