ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Saturday, March 23, 1996 TAG: 9603250041
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: LAURENCE HAMMACK STAFF WRITER
The family of a 5-year-old Vinton girl killed last year in a school bus accident has filed an $8 million lawsuit against the Roanoke County School Board and the bus driver, claiming that the child's death was the result of systemwide safety violations.
Shayla Worley died last March 27 after she was run over by a school bus in front of her Vale Avenue home. Witnesses said the girl had just gotten off the bus and turned back to retrieve a pink book bag that had become entangled in the bus door.
She slipped and fell and was run over by the rear wheels of the bus, Vinton police said last year, determining that there was no basis for criminal charges in what was described as a tragic accident.
But a lawsuit filed Friday in Roanoke Circuit Court alleges that the school system and driver Josiah "Jay" Edwards were negligent and "failed to exercise ordinary care" in several ways:
The school system failed to have an attendant get off the bus at each stop to make sure departing children were out of the way before allowing the bus to proceed.
Edwards allowed students to open and close the bus doors at each stop, and did not check the rear-view mirror to make sure that Worley was out of the way before starting the bus in motion.
Edwards also failed to heed the warning of another student on the bus who noticed that Worley's book bag was caught in the bus door, the suit alleges.
Joe Obenshain, an assistant Roanoke County attorney who represents the School Board, said he was surprised to learn Friday that a lawsuit had been filed.
"We feel that neither Roanoke County nor its employees were in any way at fault in this matter, based on an extensive investigation of the circumstances involving this very unfortunate accident," Obenshain said.
Since the accident, the county School Board has discussed plans for a new radar sensor system designed to detect the movement of children in front of, beside and behind buses. But the county ultimately decided against the idea, citing concerns with the system's reliability.
In announcing last year that Edwards would not be charged in connection with Worley's death, Vinton Police Chief Rick Foutz said the driver "did everything to see that the children had cleared the bus."
The investigation determined that Worley, a kindergarten student, ran back to the bus after getting off and starting up the steps of her home, which is about 20 feet from the street. Foutz said last year that the investigation didn't determine whether the child's book bag had in fact been entangled in the bus door.
Edwards has decided since the accident not to return to his job as a school bus driver, Obenshain said.
At the time of Foutz's announcement, Jeff Worley told The Roanoke Times that he did not hold Edwards responsible for his daughter's death. The lawsuit, filed by attorney Gregory Tobin of East Alton, Ill., lists Worley's mother as the representative of the child's estate. Tobin could not be reached for comment Friday.
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