The guardian of an 8-year-old Boston Public Schools student who was seriously injured when he was struck by a school bus in December 2024 is suing the bus driver and his employer for damages.
The lawsuit, which was filed in Suffolk County Superior Court, accuses 62-year-old Taunton resident Vitony Laguerre — the driver who struck the student — and Transdev — Boston Public Schools’ bus contractor — of negligence. It argues that Laguerre’s negligence as a bus driver caused the crash, and that Transdev was negligent in its choice to employ him.
“This frightening event almost took my child’s life,” plaintiff Cynthia Davis, the student’s guardian, said in a press release about the lawsuit. “ … Transdev must be held to account to protect our children and prevent this from ever happening again.”
Transdev declined to comment on the lawsuit, citing the fact that it is still moving through the court system. Boston Public Schools did not respond to a request for comment on Tuesday.
What happened
Laguerre struck the student on the afternoon of Dec. 6, 2024, as the child’s school aide walked him from his school in Jamaica Plain to his bus. Police responded to the crash shortly after 3 p.m., according to the police report.
Dashcam footage of the crash taken from the bus shows both the interior of the bus and the roadway in front of it. In it, Laguerre can be seen sitting in the driver’s seat with his eyes closed as the student and his aide walk down the sidewalk towards the stopped bus.
Within seconds of Laguerre opening his eyes, the video shows him driving forward, veering towards the right onto the sidewalk and directly into the student and his aide. The bus can be seen striking the student and his aide before crashing through two fences and onto a grassy area near the school.
The student’s aide told police that he heard the bus accelerating rapidly as it moved towards himself and the student, according to the police report. He said he was unable to respond quickly enough to get himself or the student out of the way of the bus.
The crash resulted in the aide being pinned against the fence while the student was thrown under the bus, according to the police report. The aide received only minor injuries, but the student’s femur bone broke as a result of the crash.
Laguerre’s explanations for the crash
Laguerre — who declined medical aid after the crash — gave two different explanations for the crash in interviews with police on separate days, according to the police report. On the day of the crash, he told police another car had cut in front of him as he pulled forward.
Laguerre said he’d veered towards the sidewalk to avoid the other car, but mistakenly hit the gas pedal instead of the brake pedal, according to the police report. He didn’t see the aide and the student until it was too late, he told police.
The bus’ dashcam footage conflicts with this explanation, as no other cars can be seen passing the bus shortly before, during or after the crash.
On Dec. 9, 2024, Laguerre told officers that the crash had been caused by a mechanical issue with the bus that had impacted his ability to steer, according to the police report. An inspection of the bus recorded by police found no such issue.
The impact of the crash
Boston police ultimately summoned Laguerre to West Roxbury District Court on a charge of negligent operation so as to endanger another person, according to the police report. He was also cited on the same offense, as well as unsafe operation of a motor vehicle and operating a motor vehicle on a sidewalk.
Laguerre pleaded not guilty to the charge during his arraignment on May 7, according to court records. It is unclear whether he is still a Boston Public Schools bus driver or employed by Transdev in any capacity.
The student who was struck by the bus underwent multiple surgeries and two months of in-patient hospital and rehabilitation treatments following the crash, according to the lawsuit. He will likely undergo future treatments as part of his physical recovery.
“It is expected that [the student] will require extensive psychological treatment to address the additional burden of post-traumatic stress on top of his underlying autism,” the lawsuit reads. “As a result of the collision described, [the student] suffered great pain of body and anguish of mind, significant medical expenses have been and incurred and will be incurred for his care and treatment, and he has suffered and will suffer a substantial loss of his ability to engage in the normal enjoyment of life.”
Transdev’s safety record
Transdev has been sued in Suffolk County Superior Court over personal injuries resulting from crashes involving its drivers 15 times since Boston Public Schools first began contracting with it in 2013, according to The Boston Globe.
In late April, a Transdev-employed Boston school bus driver ran over and killed a 5-year-old boy in Boston’s Hyde Park neighborhood. In late May, Boston Mayor Michelle Wu launched an independent investigation of Transdev, the Globe reported.
“Transdev clearly has a systemic safety problem,” Marc Breakstone, one of the attorneys behind the new lawsuit, said in a press release. “When you’re a multi-billion-dollar international company getting paid millions of dollars a year to keep the children of Boston safe, you must be held accountable.”
