Family reaches settlement in 2017 party bus death of Libertyville man

The family of a Libertyville man who died after falling out of a moving party bus in 2017 has reached an out-of-court settlement with the bus operator, the family's attorneys announced Friday.

James "Jimmy" Larsen was with more than 20 friends on a bus coming back from celebrating a birthday in Rosemont when the accident occurred in the early morning hours of June 3, 2017, on the Tri-State Tollway.

Larsen was standing in the front of the bus adjusting the music on the sound system, but as the bus negotiated the bend near Lake-Cook Road in Deerfield, Larsen fell and hit the passenger door, which opened. He fell onto Interstate 294 and was struck by an SUV, dying from multiple blunt force injuries, authorities said at the time.

Attorneys for Romanucci & Blandin, the personal injury firm representing the Larsen family, alleged in a lawsuit that Select Limousine Service Inc., the bus owner and primary operator, didn't maintain and inspect the passenger door, which had improperly aligned locking devices. The suit also alleged that the bus driver didn't have a commercial driver's license and was unqualified to drive any passenger vehicle.

The settlement amounts, finalized in December with Select Limousine Service and related defendants, weren't disclosed by the attorneys.

"This tragedy has changed our family forever, and no settlement will bring Jimmy back," said Kimberly Larsen, Jimmy's mother, in the Friday news release announcing the settlement. "He was an aspiring comedy writer and had his whole life ahead of him. He has missed being the best man at his brother's wedding and the birth of his first niece. We want to spread the word about the lack of safety regulations both federally and at the state level. No family should ever have to endure a senseless loss due to this kind of negligence."