SUFFOLK, Va. — The mother of a 10-year-old Suffolk student who suffered a fractured vertebra after being assaulted on a school bus has filed a $5 million lawsuit against the Suffolk Public School Board and the bus driver, according to the lawsuit document obtained by WTKR News 3 Tuesday.
WTKR reporter Kelsey Jones spoke with Elizabeth Feagans, the mother of the boy — a student at Mack Benn Jr. Elementary School — who said on Sept. 24, he came home "screaming, with visible marks all over his body."
When she took him to the ER at CHKD, they found he had a fractured vertebra, Feagans said.
Feagans said her son and an 11-year-old boy on the bus exchanged words before the assault, which she described as punching and kicking.
The lawsuit, filed by Tim Anderson and dated Monday, Oct. 6, alleges the boy sustained fractures to T3-T4 vertebrae, swelling at C2-C6 vertebrae, a concussion, and ongoing pain, trauma and educational disruption.
The legal claims against the school board and bus driver are as follows:
- Negligent Supervision: Failure to ensure student safety during transportation
- Failure to Render Aid: Not stopping the bus, calling emergency services, or notifying authorities
- Gross Negligence: Utter disregard for safety and total absence of care
- Negligent Training & Retention: Alleged failure by the School Board to properly train/supervise bus drivers.
Feagans said she believes the incident was preventable and wants changes made to ensure student safety.
"I want them to listen to the bus drivers and I want them to put aids on all these buses so that our children can have a safe trip to school," Feagans said.
She said her son is recovering both physically and mentally from the attack. She plans to home-school him for the remainder of the year and will not return him to Suffolk Public Schools.
Suffolk police said they are investigating incident, and the school district put out a brief statement about practicing safe habits on school buses.
