Of the 22 people taken to a hospital in January when a Greyhound bus overturned in Jackson, four so far have filed lawsuits against the company and the driver, Erika Nixon, who has been charged with aggravated DUI.

More lawsuits could be filed.

One of the lawsuits, filed by Stephen Deliefde of Port Orange, Florida, says Greyhound failed to implement proper protocols to prevent an impaired driver from operating a Greyhound bus.

Jackson Police Department earlier had reported that Nixon had a blood alcohol level of .15, more than three times the .04 limit for a person with a commercial driver's license.

Daniel Elias, of Albertville, Alabama, said he was “seriously injured and suffered damages.” Chad Moore of Atlanta and Arnold Okechukwu of Stone Mountain, Georgia, also have filed suits.

All of the lawsuits seek unspecified compensatory and punitive damages. They were filed originally filed in Hinds County Circuit Court, but Greyhound, headquartered in Dallas, had the cases moved to federal court in Jackson.

In its answers to the lawsuits, Greyhound admits only that Nixon was an employee and operated the bus when it overturned.

The crash happened Jan. 2 at about 8 p.m. on the Pascagoula Street on-ramp to I-55 southbound. The bus overturned while attempting to merge onto Interstate 55 southbound from Pascagoula Street, JPD said at the time.. First responders at the time reported no serious injuries.

There is no record in Hinds County Circuit Court of Nixon being indicted.

Nixon was initially charged with misdemeanor DUI, but the charge was upgraded to aggravated DUI, a felony offense. A person could face a maximum 25 years in prison for aggravated DUI.

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Contact Jimmie E. Gates at 601-961-7212 or jgates@gannett.com. Follow @jgatesnews on Twitter.