Legal storm brewing in wake of Paramus school bus crash

Show Caption Hide Caption 911 audio details aftermath of Paramus school bus crash Calls placed to 911 dispatchers from witnesses describe the scene following the deadly Paramus school bus crash on Route 80 in Mount Olive.

A legal storm is brewing in the wake of the deadly Paramus school bus crash that has ensnared families of injured children, the borough school district and a Belleville trucking company, as accusations swirl over who's responsible, or bears culpability, for the May accident that killed a beloved teacher and student.

At least three Paramus families whose children suffered serious injuries intend to sue the school for damages. And, on Wednesday, the first lawsuit dropped in state Superior Court, accusing the driver of the dump truck that collided with the bus of negligent actions that contributed to the crash.

The suit, filed by the parents of Asher Amir Majeed, claims the fifth-grader suffered "severe, grievous, permanent and painful injuries” as the result of a truck owned by Mendez Trucking Inc.

The driver operated the truck in a “negligent and careless manner,” failing to make proper roadway observations and proceed at a safe speed, the suit alleges.

“This has been a life-altering tragedy not just for the family but the entire Paramus community,” Bruce Nagel, the attorney who represents the Majeeds, said. “We’re hopeful that the Paramus School District and Mendez Trucking will accept responsibility.

The trucking company did not immediately respond to a message left for company officials on Wednesday night.

The company's attorney, Bryan Schwartz, said he has yet to review the complaint but will respond appropriately. He declined to comment further.

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On Monday, Mendez Trucking filed a complaint in Superior Court in Morristown against the state Department of Transportation for refusing to disclose video footage of the accident captured by a highway traffic camera .

By withholding the video, the state is putting Mendez at a disadvantage in defending against pending litigation, the suit states.

A state letter to the company said the video request was declined “out of respect for the families’ reasonable expectation of privacy." The video cannot be made public until the families have an opportunity to formally object to its release, the letter stated.

An attorney for Mendez did not immediately return a request for comment.

The state DOT does not comment on pending litigation, Steve Schapiro, a department spokesperson, said in an email.

Asher Majeed remains hospitalized with severe head trauma, cuts on his face and several broken bones, according to a fundraising website. The boy's family is incurring significant medical bills as a result of his injuries, according to the suit.

The state has not charged the driver nor trucking company with a crime. The school bus driver, Hudy Muldrow Sr., however, was arrested and charged with two counts of vehicular homicide.

Authorities said Muldrow attempted an illegal U-turn across the median on Route 80 and collided with the dump truck. A fifth-grader and a teacher were killed in the crash, and 43 others were injured.

Along with the civil suit, attorneys for the Majeed family on Wednesday also filed a tort claim, which is a notice of their intent to sue the school district for negligence.

School board attorney Stephen Fogarty did not immediately respond to a request for comment about the possible lawsuit on Wednesday afternoon. Superintendent Michele Robinson did not return a message left on her cell phone.

Paramus Board of Education president Bill Holzman did not immediately return an email requesting comment.

This is at least the third tort claim filed against the school district, according to heavily redacted legal documents obtained by The Record and NorthJersey.com through a public records request. Two other attorneys filed claims in May – including David Fried, an attorney representing the family of Miranda Vargas, the fifth-grader who died in the accident.

Fried said on Wednesday it was too soon to specify what his client’s claims against the district would be, but said they may be against Muldrow, the board and possibly the borough. The lawsuit would be filed six months after the tort claim was filed, as required by law.

“It’s devastating,” Fried said of what Vargas family has gone through. “What they are really trying to do is gain the resolve and energy to be a voice for students and families when it comes to their safety and school buses and school bus drivers.”

A second attorney who filed a tort claim against the district did not immediately return a request for comment on Wednesday. At least one more attorney said he planned on suing the district on behalf of the family of a child injured in the crash.

A Paramus school bus carrying 45 fifth-grade students, teachers and parents left the middle school on May 17 for a class trip to Waterloo Village in Stanhope, but never arrived.

The bus and dump truck collided with such force that the body of the bus separated from its chassis and toppled onto a guardrail before coming to rest on its side in the grassy median. Children and chaperones had to scramble out the roof emergency exit and several windows.



