Woman sues school district for 2018 crash

Posted 3/4/21

A Powell woman is suing Park County School District 1 over a 2018 crash, in which her truck was hit by a district school bus.

In a suit filed in Park County’s District Court last week, …

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Woman sues school district for 2018 crash

Posted

A Powell woman is suing Park County School District 1 over a 2018 crash, in which her truck was hit by a district school bus.

In a suit filed in Park County’s District Court last week, Jennifer Morrison says she suffered “traumatic injuries” after the bus “plowed into the rear end of [her] vehicle” on the morning of March 5, 2018.

The Park County Sheriff’s Office determined that school bus driver, Allen Wilson, had failed to yield the right of way; Wilson — who received a $155 ticket for the violation — told a deputy he never saw Morrison’s southbound 2003 GMC before pulling into the intersection of Road 8 and Lane 6.

Morrison’s suit, filed by Cody attorneys Colin Simpson and Larry Jones, alleges that Wilson’s driving was negligent. They say Wilson violated his duty to yield at the sign, keep a better lookout and “to properly and safely operate his vehicle in a manner that did not injure [Morrison].”

After being hit by the PCSD1 bus, Morrison’s pickup went into a ditch about 240 feet away, the sheriff’s office said. No one on the school bus was injured, but Morrison was taken to Powell Valley Hospital hospital for treatment. The suit says she suffered “traumatic injuries” to her spine, neck, shoulder and knees.

Following the crash, the district said it was altering its protocols by directing bus drivers to treat all yield signs like stop signs and to take extra time to double check their blind spots.

District leaders also stood behind Wilson, with his supervisor describing him as an exemplary employee. He remains a bus driver with the district.

“We do know that accidents can and do happen,” PCSD1 Superintendent Jay Curtis said at the time. “They happen to the best of drivers.”

Curtis also noted that the district’s bus drivers undergo extensive training and travel hundreds of thousands of miles per year, usually with zero accidents.

The Morrisons had notified district officials of the potential suit two years ago, in March 2019. Since Wilson was acting within the scope of his duties, the Morrisons’ attorneys say the Powell school district is liable for Wilson’s “actions, inactions and negligence” and is “responsible for all injuries, damages and losses suffered by plaintiffs.”

Morrison is seeking an unspecified amount of damages for past and future medical expenses, along with additional compensation for pain, suffering, nervous shock, emotional distress, embarrassment, loss of enjoyment of life, loss of physical, emotional and cognitive functioning, along with lost earnings and impaired earning capacity.

Morrison’s husband, Antone, is also a plaintiff in the case; he is seeking damages for loss of consortium, saying the injuries have impacted his relationship with his wife.

The district will file a response to the suit in the coming weeks. With District Court Judge Bill Simpson being the brother of attorney Colin Simpson, he immediately assigned the case to District Court Judge Bobbi Overfield of Thermopolis.

The crash, which occurred around 7:25 a.m. on March 5, 2018, was just the start of an unusually dangerous day on the roads around rural Powell. When Wilson returned to duty that afternoon, he was involved in another crash in the same area. In that accident, a teenager ran a stop sign after failing to see Wilson’s bus passing through the intersection of Road 8 and Lane 5, the sheriff’s office said. No serious injuries were reported, though a bus aide was taken to the hospital as a precaution. Then adding to the bizarre day, a woman who was driving through the area that afternoon became distracted by the emergency vehicles and wrecked her own truck along Road 8.

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