Boston Public Schools bus contractor sued after driver accused of striking pedestrians
Transdev North America, the bus contractor for Boston Public Schools, is being sued after a driver was accused in a crash that injured an 8-year-old student who has autism, according to the lawsuit filed Tuesday.
On Dec. 6, 2024, a school bus veered onto a sidewalk at the Curley School in Jamaica Plain and struck the child, who was walking with a school aide, officials said.
The lawsuit alleges gross negligence by Transdev and its employees, citing inadequate supervision, failure to ensure alert and competent staff, and systemic safety failures.
The crash was captured by the dashboard camera, which showed the bus driver, identified as Vitnoy Laguerre, and the bus safety monitor were napping in their seats just moments before the driver started the bus and swerved into pedestrians standing on the sidewalk, the lawsuit alleges.
"A driver who is sitting in the front of a vehicle that appears to be asleep," said Tucker Merrigan, an attorney representing Reginald Oates, 8, and his guardian, Cynthia Davis.
"This frightening event almost took my child’s life. It is shocking to read the string of lies that the driver gave to the police. This should never happen. The videos don’t lie. And it’s downright shameful that this school bus company has a track record of hitting and killing children all over Boston. Transdev must be held to account to protect our children and prevent this from ever happening again," Davis said in a statement.
According to the police report, the bus driver made multiple false claims, including that the bus experienced a “mechanical issue (steering).” The investigating officer found that all the mechanical issues on the school bus were a result of the crash.
The driver also claimed that “as he was pulling the bus forward, a vehicle cut in front of him. In an attempt to avoid the vehicle and [the student], he turned the steering wheel in the opposite direction but mistakenly pressed the gas pedal instead of the brake.” However, the dashcam video footage clearly shows there was no second vehicle. Instead, the video shows the driver inexplicably steering the bus into the direction of two pedestrians, running them over.
"(The driver) says it was a mechanical issue with the bus — police investigation proves otherwise. He says there was a car coming in the other direction — police prove otherwise," Merrigan said.
The child sustained a broken femur, which resulted in surgery and months of inpatient hospital care and treatment, lawyers said.
"(This child) suffered a horrible leg injury, complex psychological injuries, naturally," Merrigan said.
Transdev told WCVB it does not comment on active litigation.
Earlier this month, Boston Mayor Michelle Wu and BPS launched an independent investigation into school transportation safety after a 5-year-old was struck and killed by a bus in the city's Hyde Park neighborhood.
Up Academy Dorchester kindergartener Lens Arthur Joseph was struck and killed by his school bus on April 28 near the intersection of Washington Street and Glenwood Avenue.
In that crash, Boston Public Schools bus driver Jean Charles was behind the wheel and was driving on an expired school bus certificate, which he had been notified about.
"We are heartbroken," Wu said. "No family should ever suffer the loss of a child, and the public deserves a full understanding of how this could have happened and what changes are needed."
Natashia Tidwell, a former federal prosecutor and police officer who specializes in external investigations, will lead the independent review of safety policies and performance under the contracts with Transdev.
The investigation will include a review of existing safety policies and performance, including under the bus driver collective bargaining agreement, and make recommendations to strengthen safety measures, Wu said.
After learning that Charles had been operating since December 2024 with an expired credential required to work as a bus driver, Transdev conducted an audit of all drivers to ensure appropriate and valid credentials and pulled seven drivers off the road until it was determined that their credentials were current, Wu said.
Charles was placed on leave after the April crash, and Transdev moved to terminate his employment; however, he resigned on May 14, prior to his termination hearing.
Transdev has been contracted by BPS since 2013 to hire, train and manage the district’s approximately 750 school bus drivers and maintain and operate the district’s fleet of school buses.
Wu said there are approximately 400 incidents per year involving a BPS school bus, generally one or two per day across the fleet, most of which involve minimal damage.