Attorney for family of Zoe Davis responds to Clarksville school district’s federal lawsuit over bus crash
Zoe Davis, 13, and her classmate Arianna Pearson, 13, were killed in March when their school bus driver swerved out of her lane into oncoming traffic and hit a dump truck.
What This Story Is About
- Clarksville-Montgomery County Schools has filed a federal interpleader lawsuit asking a judge to decide how to divide $700,000 among the people making claims after a March school bus crash that killed two Kenwood Middle students.
Why It Matters
- The school district says $700,000 is the most it’s required pay for the crash due to Tennessee’s Tort liability act.
What Happens Next
- Wiley said the family plans to challenge the lawsuit in court.
Catch Up
CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. (WSMV) - Clarksville-Montgomery County Schools has filed a federal interpleader lawsuit asking a judge to decide how to divide $700,000 among the people making claims after a March school bus crash that killed two Kenwood Middle students.
Zoe Davis, 13, and her classmate Arianna Pearson, 13, were killed in March when their school bus driver swerved out of her lane into oncoming traffic and hit a dump truck.
“There’s no amount of money that would bring Zoe Davis back to her parents,” said Susan Neal Wiley, the attorney for the Davis family. The family is seeking accountability, along with 22 others who were hurt on the bus.
The school district says $700,000 is the most it’s required pay for the crash due to Tennessee’s Tort liability act.
“There are 24 claimants, two families that lost little girls, and they’re being told by the school district, by the state, that $700,000 is sufficient to be carved up amongst these families,” Wiley said. “Obviously, that is woefully inadequate to account for what’s happened here.”
In a separate filing, the district filed a motion to stay is response to a lawsuit filed by the Davis family seeking $5 million dollars. The motion is asking a state judge to put the Davis family’s lawsuit on hold.
Wiley said that if the judge agrees, it will stop the family’s efforts to get more records. She said that includes questioning the bus driver and school officials under oath.
“The families are angry that the school system is attempting to prevent any answers from being had by these families and by this community,” Wiley said.
The district did not respond to a request for comment on its lawsuit. The bus driver reportedly had a medical emergency. Wiley said the family wants to know what the district knew about the driver’s health before the crash.
“It’s enough that it happened once, and to have a better understanding as to how it happened would hopefully allow for steps to be taken to prevent any other family from being in the position that the Davis family is in today,” Wiley said.
Wiley said the family plans to challenge both cases in court.
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