Woman Hit by Bus Sues for $30 Million
Lawsuit claims driver had history of accidents
BY SHERRI LY/myfoxdc
WASHINGTON - A woman hit by a Metrobus is suing the transit agency for $30 million. The lawsuit filed by her attorney in U.S. District Court today claims Metro should have taken the driver, with a history of accidents, off the road long before this. Now she wants Metro to pay.
In the lawsuit, Amanda Mahnke's attorney says Metro's firing of the driver after the September accident came too late.
"Metro was on notice that this woman was not a careful driver, that she was a careless driver," said her attorney Patrick Regan.
The legal complaint says the driver "Carla Proctor was cited for several reckless motor vehicle violations as a WMATA employee but was not properly terminated, retrained and or supervised..."
That failure it later says, "Amounted to gross negligence..."
In response, Metro says it has not yet been notified about the lawsuit, but in the past has said the driver received remedial training after those previous accidents.
"Typically if pending litigation is presented against us we typically would defer any type of comment while the action goes through court," said Steven Taubenkibel, a Metro Spokesperson.
On the day of the accident, the bus was headed east on Florida Avenue.
In its investigation, FOX 5 learned, police determined the bus had a yellow light and the light turned red when the bus was midway through the intersection.
At the same time, Mahnke got a walk signal and jogged into the crosswalk when she was hit.
Regan says it was not an accident and the driver was operating the bus carelessly and recklessly.
"Every single witness who saw some portion of this incident says she was speeding and she was running the light," Regan said.
Mahnke had a "fractured skull, epidural hematoma, broken clavicle, fractured ribs, collapsed lung, pelvis fracture, traumatic brain injury..." according to the complaint and said "she has suffered permanent injuries and damages... and will continue to suffer much physical pain and mental anguish."
Mahnke's attorney says he believes the driver should face criminal charges but four months after the accident no charges have been filed. Regan says Mahnke, is out of the hospital but has undergone numerous surgeries with a long road ahead for her recovery.
The lawsuit is seeking $10 million in compensatory damages, another $20 million in punitive damages. Mahnke's attorney says she doesn't remember what happened but she will live with it for the rest of her life.
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