5 Pittsburgh-area families sue First Student bus company over alleged negligence

Five families sued a school bus company over injuries and suffering they say were the result of negligence by the business and their drivers.

Attorney Conor Lamb of Kline and Specter filed four lawsuits in Allegheny County, in tandem with Attorney Katie Killion of Kontos, Mengine, Killion and Hassen, who filed one more, against the school bus company First Student.

They're all on behalf of five families of fifth graders, who were screaming and crying on their ride home May 30, 2025.

"They are responsible for the conduct of their employee, this driver," Lamb said. "It's a case about how scared they were, how much danger they were in, and the effect that it's had on their mental health."

The other defendant is the administrator of the estate of 66-year-old Jeffrey Irwin, who investigators said was behind the wheel when the school van crashed on the 16th Street Bridge, before hitting another vehicle and taking off.

One of the suits said the 10-year-olds remained on the van for 30 to 40 minutes until police tracked Irwin down in Mt. Oliver. It's where Irwin admitted to drinking before picking up the students. The suits allege he had a blood alcohol level of 0.33, more than four times the legal limit in Pennsylvania.

"Her head hit the side window of the van when it swerved at some point, either right before or right after the accident on the 16th Street Bridge," Lamb said.

One of the students Lamb is representing had a concussion, and so did one represented by Killion. The latter was also allegedly concussed in another incident on a First Student bus in 2024. The lawyers said these two students and the three others are all struggling with their mental health and are suffering from emotional distress.

"They were psychologically injured," Lamb said. "I mean, any parent can imagine what it would be like to try to convince your child to get back onto a school van or a school bus after something like this. It's been hard."

They claim the defendants were negligent and reckless, with Irwin having a previous DUI in 2001, and having shown up at the First Student garage that morning after not showing up to pick up the students. One lawsuit said they let him go on to get the students and drive them home after video footage showed him "clearly slurring his words."

Police arrested Irwin on multiple counts of DUI, reckless driving and endangering the welfare of children before he died in July and the charges were dropped.

However, Lamb said these families deserve some accountability.

"This company is in the business of transporting students every day. It's what they do all across the country. They have to do it safely, and they totally failed to do it in this instance and threatened these kids' lives," Lamb said. "We're lucky that they're still with us today after what happened."

KDKA reached out to First Student for a response to the lawsuits. A spokesperson said they can't comment on pending litigation.