According to a news report posted on kansascity.com, the victims and
the families of the victims of a severe truck accident filed a lawsuit
alleging the at-fault driver was wearing noise-canceling headphones at
the time of the crash. The accident tragically killed five people and
severely injured dozens of bus passengers. The wrongful death and
negligence lawsuit that was filed last week alleges a FedEx truck
driver’s use of the noise-canceling headphones prevented the truck
driver from hearing warnings that he was going to collide with a bus
wreck. The suit also includes a photograph taken of the FedEx driver
in the truck’s cab wearing the headphones.
According to the report, the FedEx truck crashed into a bus at around
3:30 in the morning. The complaint states that one of the victims, a
child, was decapitated in the accident. The plaintiffs consist of 18
victims or families of the victims.
FedEx published a statement maintaining that safety is their top
priority, and they expressed their “our thoughts and condolences” to
the people affected. However, FedEx stated that the company intended
to “defend our position should this matter proceed,” and that the
“allegations against FedEx Ground and Mr. Stowers (truck driver) are
without merit.”
The lawsuit complaint states that the victims needed a spectrum of
medical treatment for injuries as a traumatic brain injury, multiple
broken ribs, and broken neck. The suit seeks damages and demands FedEx
to establish a workplace policy that prevents its truck drivers from
wearing headphones.
The National Transportation Safety Board stated two bus passengers,
the bus driver, and two passengers in a truck were all tragically
killed. The preliminary NTSB accident report also stated that the bus
swerved toward the highway’s median, swept-back through all travel
lanes, struck an embankment, rolled over onto the bus’ side, and
settled in the travel lanes. The bus was then hit by the FedEx
tractor-trailer that was also struck by a UPS truck. The UPS truck
driver and co-driver were tragically killed. At least one additional
lawsuit has been filed over the tragic accident.
