Coach injured in Aliquippa Jr. High football team bus crash files lawsuit

Nearly a week after the Aliquippa Jr. High football team was in a bus crash that injured 21 people, one of the team's assistant coaches has filed a lawsuit.

Jonathan Morris, a volunteer coach for the team, is seeking damages in excess of $50,000 on three counts of negligence and recklessness against the driver, known as "John Doe" in the lawsuit, and the bus company, ABC Transit.

Morris was seated directly behind the driver on the bus the morning of Aug. 23, when the driver lost control and the bus turned onto its side and struck a telephone pole. Morris was taken to Allegheny General Hospital, where he was held for three days with a concussion, vertebral injuries to his neck and back and injuries to his left elbow and left knee.

The lawsuit makes several claims, including the driver failing to maintain proper and adequate control of the bus, driving the bus in a careless and reckless manner, and consciously choosing to drive at a rate of speed above the speed limit with minors on the bus. They also claim ABC Transit failed to train, monitor and supervise its employees, and also hired the driver while "knowing that his driving and/or criminal record made him unfit to safely operate a commercial vehicle that transported minors."

Morris' attorneys, Clancy Boylan and Hannah Molitoris of Morgan & Morgan, released this statement: "This terrifying incident which injured our client and 20 others never should have happened. We believe this crash could have been prevented and we will work to make sure something like this will not happen again. The thousands of students in Greater Pittsburgh who rely on school buses across the city deserve to travel safely without worrying that they will experience a similar incident, and we plan to hold ABC Transit and the driver accountable for their roles in this crash."

KDKA has spoken with Morris, who has deferred any discussion on the case to his lawyers. ABC Transit declined to comment.