Lawsuit filed against bus company, driver, in O'Hare crash
A Waukegan woman has filed a personal injury lawsuit against the company and the driver of a bus involved in a crash at O'Hare International Airport.
Talipha Charles, 52, was one of 14 passengers on a shuttle bus that crashed Friday morning into a concrete median on I-190 near the terminals at O'Hare, according to a news release from Clifford Law Offices of Chicago.
The lawsuit filed Tuesday in Cook County court claims negligence on the part of the bus company, Delaware Car Rental, Inc., and the bus driver. The suit seeks at least $50,000 in damages.
The lawsuit states Charles was taken by ambulance to a hospital and treated for broken bones, contusions and other injuries.
"It was imperative that Ms. Charles file this lawsuit so that we can take the appropriate steps to seek a protective order relating to the bus and the employment file of the bus driver so that the bus is maintained in its current condition and so that we can begin our own investigation into this completely preventable tragedy," attorney Michael Krzak said in a prepared statement.
Police are still investigating the cause the crash, said Krzak, who plans to look into the driver's employment history, qualifications and the number of hours she worked before the accident.
According to him, Charles and the other passenger were riding the bus from a remote parking lot to the terminals that day because the trains that usually transport travelers were not working.
The driver was named in the lawsuit for failing to stay in the proper lane of traffic, speeding and failure to avoid collision with a concrete barrier, according to the news release.
Daily Herald writer Barbara Vitello contributed to this report.