Six bus passengers injured in last week's horrific accident on Highway 99 filed a lawsuit Wednesday against Greyhound as another passenger charged that the bus driver was speeding just before the crash.
The lawsuit, filed in Sacramento County Superior Court, makes general allegations against bus driver James Jewett, saying he did not fulfill his duty to transport the passengers safely. It asks that the company be held responsible for damages to those who were injured or killed in the July 22 accident in central Fresno. Six people died.
Wednesday's lawsuit could be just the first legal salvo as many connected to the deadly accident hire attorneys and consider their own court filings.
In an unrelated twist that may support that first lawsuit, bus passenger Avtar Jandi told The Modesto Bee that the bus was traveling too fast just before it struck an overturned SUV. He is not among the plaintiffs in the lawsuit.
Jandi, a veterinary surgeon in Modesto, was on the bus because he had missed his Amtrak train while heading home from Los Angeles. He estimated the speed of the bus at more than 70 mph and said he had left his seat to tell the driver to slow down.
"I looked out, and I saw the disabled car between the first and middle lane," he said. "I didn't know if it was stopped, upside down or just slow. I knew it wasn't normal, though, and I knew he [the bus driver] was going to hit it. He was going too fast."
Wednesday, CHP officials said they haven't yet determined the speed of the bus. An investigation into an accident of such size, involving three vehicles and dozens of people, typically takes 90 to 120 days.
Among those killed was Jewett, 57, of Sacramento. He also was named in the lawsuit filed Wednesday; Greyhound representatives said they would not comment on pending litigation.
But the lawsuit, filed by the Scranton Law Firm of Concord and the Brady Law Group in San Rafael, could be the first of many over the early-morning crash. The sole surviving driver and family of one of those killed say they have retained attorneys and may consider legal action.
Several prominent Fresno civil attorneys who aren't involved in the case said they would have conducted a more lengthy investigation before filing any lawsuit over the crash.
Lawyer Nicholas "Butch" Wagner said he thinks suing before the official accident report is complete "is premature ... you're suing people that might not be liable and leaving out defendants that should be in there."
But Steven Brady, principal trial lawyer at the Brady Law Group, said the only way to find answers is to start the legal process.
Plaintiffs in the lawsuit are adults Maurice Campbell, Catrina Connor, Robert Long Jr. and Maria Tellez, and children Demarco Campbell and Dalven Pipkins. Most suffered orthopedic and head injuries; the children also are experiencing severe emotional distress, according to legal representatives.
In a news release issued by the law firms, Maurice Campbell of Sacramento called the wreck "a life-altering nightmare. I now have extreme difficulty walking due to an injury to my Achilles tendon and one of my shoulders is causing me extreme pain."
In addition to Greyhound and the bus driver, the lawsuit names several other defendants -- including the two other drivers involved in the accident "because the investigation has not been completed," according to the news release.