The family of a New Jersey high school cheerleader who was seriously injured during a hit-and-run earlier this year is suing the Newark School Board for negligence — because the wheelchair-bound victim is still recovering from that traumatic accident. Struggling to recover from the incident.
According to the lawsuit, 19-year-old Chiara Jones, a senior at Arts High School, had just stepped off the bus after a cheerleading competition in South Jersey on Feb. 4 when she was hit by a crazy driver on Martin Luther King Boulevard.
She was hospitalized and remained in critical condition for several weeks, unable to speak or walk due to a brain injury. According to the people.
Months later, she is still struggling to recover from the injuries, which her family’s attorney, James Lynch, said were “severe and permanent.”
On Monday, the attorney announced a lawsuit naming the Newark School Board, among others, as defendants — and seeking an unspecified amount of damages to offset his mounting legal bills.
The lawsuit also names the bus driver, who allegedly did not extend the vehicle’s stop sign mechanism.
“There are many people who bear responsibility in this heart-breaking tragedy,” Lynch said in a press release accompanying the lawsuit.
“Both drivers were careless in the operation of their vehicles and, in addition, were grossly negligent by failing to properly implement and supervise required safety procedures with alighting from the Arts High School and Newark Board of Education bus.”
The teen’s mother, Tomika Jones, told News 12 New Jersey in March that she misses talking with her daughter.
“We’re mourning the loss of the person we used to be,” Jones said. “It has been a challenge.
“I never imagined this,” she added. “We are heartbroken.”
According to People, despite Sunday night’s horrific crash, the suspect — Mi’Jah Burton, 33 — kept driving.
Police arrested him about a month later and charged him with several crimes, including leaving the scene of an accident with serious bodily injury and assault by auto, the outlet said.
(TagstoTranslate)US News(T)Car Accidents(T)Courts(T)Hit and Run(T)Lawsuit(T)New Jersey
