Mother of student who died in fatal bus crash sues for $100 million - Los Angeles Times
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Mother of student who died in fatal bus crash sues for $100 million

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Flames engulf the vehicles just after a head-on crash near Orland, Calif., involving a FedEx truck and a bus carrying Los Angeles-area high school students on a visit to a college.   (Jeremy Lockett / Associated Press)
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Frankie Martin holds a prayer group at his home in Inglewood for Ismael Jimenez and Denise Gomez, friends lost in the bus accident.   (Dan Krauss / For The Times )
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National Transportation Safety Board investigator Robert Accetta examines the bus wrecked in a collision with a FedEx truck in Northern California.  (National Transportation Safety Board / EPA)
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National Transportation Safety Board investigators examine the remains of a FedEx tractor-trailer involved in a multiple-fatality crash with a bus in Northern California.  (National Transportation Safety Board / EPA)
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Traffic along the northbound lanes of Interstate 5 near Orland, Calif., moves past the scene of a fatal bus-truck crash.   (Rick Loomis / Los Angeles Times)
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A thank-you note inside Veterans Memorial Hall in Orland, Calif., was left behind for townspeople who helped out after a fatal bus-truck crash.  (Rick Loomis / Los Angeles Times)
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Valerie Hernandez, 17, left, and Lizette Cabrera, 16, stop by to pay their respects at a make-shift memorial for Adrian Castro at El Monte High School.   (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)
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Tiffany Ramirez, 14, weeps after placing flowers on a memorial for Adrian Castro.  (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)
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Adrian Castro, who was killed in Thursday bus crash, is remembered by students at a memorial on the sidewalk at El Monte High School.   (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)
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A makeshift memorial in memory of Adrian Castro at El Monte High School.   (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)
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An El Monte High School student secures a banner hung at the school in tribute to senior Adrian Castro, who was killed in the crash.  (Damian Dovarganes / Associated Press)
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El Monte High School students light candles at a memorial for classmate Adrian Castro.   (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
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Jonathan Gutierrez talks with a reporter at LAX after surviving the bus crash in Orland, CA. (Robert Gauthier/Los Angeles Times)  (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
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Jonathan Gutierrez is given a cupcake from Rosie Kwak as he arrives at LAX a day after surviving the bus crash in Orland, CA.  (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
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Students console one another at El Monte High School. Adrian Castro, a senior at the school was killed in the bus crash.   (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)
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California Highway Patrol Officer Joe Stokes clears away crime scene tape at the scene of the deadly crash in Orland, Calif.   (Elijah Nouvelage / Getty Images)
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The Nissan sedan of Bonnie and Joe Duran that was struck by a FedEx truck before it slammed head-on into a bus rests in the ditch beside Interstate 5 in Orland, Calif.  (Hector Amezcua / Associated Press)
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El Monte High baseball players are emotional as they discuss the death of teammate Adrian Castro, killed in the bus crash in Orland, CA.  (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)
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LA Mayor Eric Garcetti, center, hugs school board member Steve Zimmer as he arrives at a LAUSD press conference.  (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)
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April Garcia,11, right, with her mom Blanca leave the Riverside home of Marisa Serrato,17, who is unaccounted for after a fiery bus crash in Orland, CA.  (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
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Briana Medina, 15, left, and Jenny Molina, 15, both freshmen at El Monte High School pay their respects to their friend Adrian Castro.   (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
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A member of the Glenn County Sheriff’s Department escorts distraught people from Memorial Hall in Orland, CA.   (Rick Loomis / Los Angeles Times)
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Students sign a poster at El Monte High School in memory of Adrian Castro, a senior killed in the bus crash in Orland, CA.  (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)
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A CHP officer looks over the wreckage of a big rig crash and charter bus in the northbound lanes of the Interstate 5 where it runs through the town of Orland, Ca.   (Rick Loomis / Los Angeles Times)
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A police photographer takes a pictures of the accident scene, where ten people were killed in the crash involving a charter bus and FedEx truck.  (Rick Loomis / Los Angeles Times)
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Students enter Banning High School in Wilmington on Friday morning. LAUSD officials said that 19 of its students were aboard the bus that collided with a FedEx freight truck in Northern California. At least 10 people were killed.  (Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times)
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Manual Arts Senior High School student Alvaro Rodriguez, 18, right, is glad that his friend Rosa Cuveas, who was traveling on the bus involved in the fatal Northern California crash, is safe and not injured. He said he found about her through an Instagram photo seen on the smartphone image. He is flanked by another friend, Natalie Martinez.  (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)
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Part of a big rig is loaded onto a flat bed trailer to be carted away in the aftermath of the crash.  (Rick Loomis / Los Angeles Times)
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The burned out remains of a charter bus that crashed with a FedEx truck on Interstate 5 en route to visit Humboldt State University.  (Rick Loomis / Los Angeles Times)
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A worker looks over the demolished cab of the FedEx truck that crashed into a tour bus on Interstate 5 on Thursday in Orland, Calif.  (Jeff Chiu / Associated Press)
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Memorial candles burn outside the police perimeter set up as authorities work at the scene of a fatal crash between a FedEx truck and bus packed with L.A.-area high school students near Orland, Calif.  (Rick Loomis / Los Angeles Times)
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Wreckage from the crash of a big rig and a bus carrying L.A.-area students rests in the northbound lanes of Interstate 5 where it runs through Orland, Calif.   (Rick Loomis / Los Angeles Times)
By Christine Mai-Duc
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The mother of a 17-year-old student who died when a FedEx freight truck slammed into a college-bound bus in Northern California, creating a fireball of wreckage, has filed a wrongful death lawsuit, claiming the company’s vehicles have a history of catching fire.

The lawsuit, filed Tuesday in Los Angeles County Superior Court, is the first to be filed since the April 10 collision, which occurred after the FedEx truck crossed a median. Five students from Southern California high schools and three adult chaperons bound for Humboldt State University perished in the fiery crash, as did both the drivers.

Rosa Rivera, the mother of Dorsey High School student Jennifer Bonilla -- described by friends and teachers as a bright, spunky teenager on the brink of going to college -- is seeking $100 million in general and punitive damages, said attorney A. King Aminpour.

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The suit claims FedEx negligently operated its freight trucks, despite previous incidents of vehicles catching fire due to mechanical problems, driver error or improperly loaded cargo.

Some witnesses reported the FedEx truck was on fire before it hit the chartered bus.

The suit also names the estate of the FedEx driver, Timothy Paul Evans, and the bus company, Silverado Stages, as defendants in the case, claiming the bus was not equipped with enough emergency exits for escape.

Aminpour told The Times that while the family doesn’t believe the bus company was a “primary factor” in the crash, they are exploring all options until officials finish their investigation.

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Investigators with the California Highway Patrol and National Transportation Safety Board have said it could be months before a cause is determined.

“It is our full intent and desire to … obtain justice for the families that have been affected by this horrific tragedy,” Aminpour said. “We hope to be able to provide answers to the families, and we hope to hold Federal Express accountable … to prevent something like this from ever happening again.”

Silverado Stages declined to comment Wednesday, and a representative for Evans’ family could not be reached.

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A FedEx spokeswoman said in an email the company was not discussing litigation.

“Our heartfelt condolences remain with everyone touched by this tragic accident,” Shea Leordeanu said. “We remain focused on providing support to those affected and fully cooperating with the authorities as they conduct their investigation. This is not the time for us to discuss potential litigation.”

[email protected]

Twitter: @cmaiduc

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Christine Mai-Duc

Former staff writer Christine Mai-Duc covered California politics and breaking news for the Los Angeles Times.

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