JESSIEVILLE — A wrongful-death lawsuit has been filed against the Jessieville School District three years after a pedestrian was struck and killed by a school bus owned and maintained by the district.
According to an Arkansas State Police report, Steven C. Coons, 44, was struck by the mirror of a southbound school bus while walking south partially in a lane of Arkansas 7 near Arkansas 298 on Jan. 4, 2016. Coons died at the scene.
State police noted the road conditions were dry and clear at the time of the accident.
Three years to the day after Coons' death, a lawsuit was filed in Garland County Circuit Court by Patricia Woolley, administrator of his estate.
The lawsuit contents that Coons was walking to a gas station after his vehicle ran out of fuel on Arkansas 7.
The suit alleges that while Coons was walking on the side of the road, he was struck in the back of the head by the mirror of the school bus — driven in a "negligent and reckless manner" — causing "instantaneous death."
The complaint names a separate defendant, Johnny Breckenridge, as the driver of the school bus. A document on the district's website shows the Jessieville School Board accepted Breckenridge's resignation on May 9, 2016.
Jessieville Superintendent Melissa Speers said Wednesday she was not in an administrative position in 2016 when the accident happened.
"When we received the paperwork on this, we did as we do with anything like this and turned it over to our district's attorney and they are handling this," she said.