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.