DALLAS, Dec. 11, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- A Dallas
County District Court jury has found Dallas-based Greyhound Lines Inc. responsible
for the 2017 death of Hunter Brown,
a 25-year-old passenger who was run over by the bus as he ran to
catch it at an Oregon rest
stop.
The jury awarded Mr. Brown's parents, Dr. Barry Brown and Paula
Becker, $20 million in
compensatory damages after finding Greyhound negligent for causing
the accident that killed their son.
"This was a horrible, entirely preventable tragedy," said
Charla Aldous of Dallas law firm Aldous Walker, who represents
the victim's parents. "Greyhound has an obligation to keep its
passengers safe. That certainly was not the case here. We are
thankful for the jury's careful consideration of the evidence and
for holding Greyhound responsible."
Mr. Brown was traveling to California when his Greyhound bus made a
late-night stop at the Pilot Travel Center in Central Point, Oregon. Riders were allowed off
to use the restroom and buy food.
According to evidence presented at the trial, the Greyhound
driver, Arthur Coley, did not
perform a mandatory head count of passengers before leaving the
truck stop prior to the stated time of departure. While trying to
get the driver's attention to board the bus, Mr. Brown was run over
and killed.
Link to sound bite with Charla
Aldous:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/ka1sl67owhi5ale/Aldous-Greyhoud-4.mp4?dl=0
Despite the accident, Mr. Coley continued to drive for
Greyhound. Records show he was not reprimanded until after the
lawsuit was filed and that was only for failure to take a head
count before leaving the bus stop, in violation of company policy.
He was later fired for allegedly smashing the cell phone of a
passenger who was taking video of him being rude to other
passengers.
"Our son was looking forward to his future when his life ended,"
Mr. Brown's parents said in a statement. "We are grateful to the
jury for seeing the horrible actions of this bus driver and the
company's irresponsibility for continuing to employ him. We hope
Greyhound changes its policies to make sure this doesn't happen to
another family."
Brent Walker of Aldous
Walker and Jane Paulson of
Paulson Coletti Trial Attorneys PC
in Portland, Oregon, also
represented the family.
The case is Paula Becker and
Barron Brown, individually and on
behalf of the Estate of Hunter Brown
vs. Greyhound Lines, Inc. in the 298th District Court of
Dallas County.
The AldousWalker LLP law firm represents clients in civil
litigation, personal injury, medical malpractice, products
liability and wrongful death cases. Learn more about the firm
at http://www.aldouslaw.com.
Media Contact:
Sophia
Reza
800-559-4534
sophia@androvett.com
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content:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/dallas-jury-awards-parents-of-seattle-man-killed-by-greyhound-bus-20m-300973710.html
SOURCE AldousWalker LLP