• 16
  • July
    2010

The trial recently began in the case of the Kansas State fan bus accident that killed a 27-year-old Shawnee man more than three and a half years ago. The bus accident involved a modified school bus transporting Kansas State football fans through Lawrence.

The fan bus, dubbed the Cat Tracker, had been modified to become a double-decker bus allowing individuals to ride on top in the open air. The victim of the accident, John Green, died as a result of head injuries when he hit his head as the bus passed under an overpass. Several other individuals were serious injured in the accident.

The trial is the result of a wrongful death suit brought by Green's widow against a Manhattan auto dealer, Briggs Auto Group, which is alleged to have modified the bus from a typical school bus into the double-decker fan bus. The suit alleges that Briggs was negligent in modifying the vehicle and making it unsafe for travel.

Several other defendants in the case have already made confidential settlements and are no longer part of the lawsuit.

At trial, the defense has argued both that Briggs was not the owner of the bus at the time the modifications were made, and that the injured passengers had been warned that it was unsafe to ride on top of the bus when passing under the overpasses.

Concerning the ownership issue, attorneys for the auto dealership have argued that the bus was given away as a gift before the modifications were made and that the bus was only stored at the auto dealership as a courtesy when not in use.

A jury verdict in the trial will most likely be reached in the coming days or weeks.

Related Resource:

Defense making its case in Kansas State fan bus death (KansasCity.com)

UPDATED: July 21, 2010

The defendant, Briggs Auto Group, was found not liable by the Douglas County District Court jury. There jury reportedly deliberated for about three hours before reaching their verdict.

Related Resource:

Company found not liable in Kansas bus death (Associated Press)