Family of Hyde Park boy killed by BPS bus says company, driver were negligent, according to new lawsuit
No one has been criminally charged in the crash, which remains under investigation by the Suffolk District Attorney's office and Boston police.
Charles resigned in May, shortly before a scheduled termination hearing, city and district leaders have said. The Globe has been unable to reach him, and city and state officials have declined to release any identifying information about the driver except for his name.
About a month after the crash, Mayor Michelle Wu and Superintendent Mary Skipper announced an independent probe into the company's
safety policies and performance.
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Transdev, an $11 billion French company with US headquarters in Illinois, has served as BPS's bus contractor since 2013. BPS contracts with the company to maintain the district's bus fleet, its three bus yards, and hire and manage school bus drivers, the district has said.
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Transdev didn't immediately respond to a request for comment in response to the lawsuit.
'We are committed to ensuring that Lens Joseph's life will not be defined by his death. We are steadfast in seeking justice for Lens and his family members, and we will not waver in that pursuit,' said the family's attorneys, Matthew Fogelman and Alan Klevan, in a statement.
The Joseph family
The Joseph family lawsuit seeks a jury trial, and asks for 'damages in an amount sufficient to compensate them' for their injuries, pain and suffering, and expenses, the complaint said.
The Josephs' complaint includes details that have been previously released by city and school officials regarding Lens's death.
Charles, who had been driving for about two years as a BPS bus
driver for Transdev, had been in a series of crashes prior to Lens's death. Charles had been removed from the road by Transdev for training less than two weeks before the fatal Hyde Park crash, according to details previously released by
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On the day of the crash, Charles was serving as a substitute school bus driver, and had never taken the route that included Lens and his cousin, the city and school leaders have said. A few minutes before the crash in Hyde Park, Charles struck a vehicle in Mattapan before leaving the scene, the Globe has reported.
Charles did not follow protocol and report to a school bus yard safety office
the collision, which happened while Lens, his cousin, and other children were aboard the bus, officials have said.
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The Joseph family's complaint alleges Transdev was negligent in the hiring, training, and supervision of its drivers. It was also 'negligently implementing' policies and procedures for the safe transportation of children on buses, the complaint said.
Transdev also failed to use safety equipment on the buses, which are owned by BPS, according to the complaint. That includes stop-arm cameras, extended stop arms, crossing arms, surround cameras, pedestrian detection sensors, and automatic braking systems, the complaint said.
Charles, the bus driver, acted 'negligently and/or recklessly' within the scope of his employment, according to the complaint.
Neither the city of Boston or Boston Public Schools are named as defendants in the complaint.
Lens's cousin also has been deeply impacted by the crash. She feared for her own safety while watching the bus run over Lens, and she has suffered severe emotional distress as a result, including anxiety, depression, sadness, fear, and sleep disturbances, the complaint said.
Lens's aunt and grandmother witnessed the moments immediately after the collision and also were traumatized by it, the lawsuit said.
Since the crash, Transdev audited its drivers to ensure they had appropriate and valid credentials, Wu and Skipper have said.
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BPS has also strengthened its safety protocols since the Hyde Park crash, including regular meetings with Transdev safety leadership to review all crashes and safety incidents, and the company's responses.
There are about 400 'incidents' per year involving a BPS school bus, the city and school officials have said, generally one or two crashes per day across the fleet. Most involve minimal damage, they have said.
They also said Transdev was accelerating regular refresher training of all drivers on pickup, drop-off, and crash protocols.
Concerns about Boston Public Schools bus safety remain. The City Council's Education Committee,
John Hilliard can be reached at
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