Dallas Jury Awards $20 Million To Parents Of Man Who Was Run Over, Killed By Greyhound Bus
DALLAS (CBSDFW.COM) - A jury has awarded $20 million to the family of a Seattle man who was run over and killed by a Greyhound bus after it was determined that the Dallas-based company was responsible for his death.
According to attorneys representing the family, Hunter Brown, 25, died in 2017 after he was run over by the bus as he was trying to catch it at a rest stop in Oregon.
Attorneys said Brown was on the bus that was going to California when it made a rest stop at a gas station. Passengers were allowed to get off and rest.
During the trial, attorneys claimed the driver, Arthur Coley, failed to do a head count of passengers and left before the stated time of departure. Brown was run over as he tried to get the driver's attention.
"This was a horrible, entirely preventable tragedy," attorney Charla Aldous said. "Greyhound has an obligation to keep its passengers safe. That certainly was not the case here. We are thankful for the jury's careful consideration of the evidence and for holding Greyhound responsible."
The jury agreed and found the Dallas-based company to be responsible for Brown's death, awarding the parents $20 million in compensatory damages.
Attorneys said Coley was reprimanded after the lawsuit was filed for not doing the head count and that he was later fired for a separate incident involving destroying a passenger's cellphone after he was allegedly being rude to others.
"Our son was looking forward to his future when his life ended," Brown's parents said in a statement. "We are grateful to the jury for seeing the horrible actions of this bus driver and the company's irresponsibility for continuing to employ him. We hope Greyhound changes its policies to make sure this doesn't happen to another family."
