Family files suit over bus crash

? The family of a man who died when a school bus collided with his vehicle last month has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the Liberty school district, the bus driver, the bus maker, the makers of its brake and electrical systems and businesses that did repair work on the bus.

On May 9, a school bus carrying young children in the Kansas City suburb of Liberty plowed into two vehicles at a busy intersection, killing the two motorists and injuring 23 children, some seriously, and the bus driver.

The widow and two sons of one of the motorists, David Gleason, 53, of Kansas City, filed a wrongful death lawsuit Wednesday in Clay County Circuit Court. The family for the other man who died, David Sandweiss, 49, of Liberty, is not part of the lawsuit.

“We do not know yet precisely what caused this school bus crash, but we do know with moral certainly that David Gleason is not to blame for this tragedy,” said attorney Gary C. Robb.

The bus driver, Irma Denise Thomas, has said she was unable to stop the bus. Her lawyer, John R. Cullom, has said she believed the air brakes failed and that she had filed at least three brake-related work orders in the six months before the crash.

The lawsuit names Thomas and Bendix Commercial Vehicle Systems, which recalled the original air brake system on the bus, as defendants. Also named were: Thomas Built Buses, the bus manufacturer; its parent company, Freightliner LLC; Cummins Mid-America, which sold and serviced the bus’s electrical system; Liberty Public School District; and Midway Ford Truck Center and Midwest Bus Sales, which did repair work on the bus.

Gleason’s widow, Carla Gleason, and sons Dustin and David L. Gleason, are seeking unspecified damages.

Company representatives and a lawyer for the bus driver either declined to comment or could not be reached.

Cullom was traveling out of the country Thursday and could not be reached, his office said. Jim Houck, a spokesman for Bendix Services, declined to comment.

Chris Brandt, spokesman for Freightliner, the parent company of Thomas Built Buses, said Wednesday the company had not been served with the lawsuit and declined comment. Jim Dunn, school district spokesman, also declined to comment.

Midway Ford Truck Center declined comment, and no one was immediately available to comment Thursday at Cummins Mid-America. Don Kincaid, president of Midwest Bus Sales, said Thursday that he had not seen the lawsuit and could not comment on it. He said his company last saw the bus in November 2002 when Thomas issued a recall for a clutch fan.

The National Transportation Safety Board has said a preliminary investigation did not find problems with the brakes or electrical systems. The NTSB has said it would take a year to 18 months to complete the final report.

Maintenance documents that The Kansas City Star obtained from the Liberty School District show a history of electrical problems on the bus, some dating to 2001. The bus also was part of a massive recall in 2000 to repair a malfunctioning antilock braking system. Repairs were made, according to maintenance records.

“This kind of accident is every motorist’s nightmare, because it could happen to anyone riding along in a car,” Robb said. “There was nothing David (Gleason) could have done to save himself.”