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Mom of boy killed at bus stop nearly decade ago continues to seek justice

By Allison Latos, wsoctv.com
By Allison Latos, wsoctv.com

UNION COUNTY, N.C. — Nearly a decade ago, a 7-year-old boy was hit and killed by a van in Union County while trying to catch his bus. Now, his mother told anchor Allison Latos she is still fighting for justice.

[PAST COVERAGE: 7-Year-Old dies after he was hit while heading to school bus]

Lara Beegle said living without her son, Jonathan, is daily torture. The family's attorney said the bus stop is dangerous, and they want the school district to be held accountable.

"The brightest blue eyes. He never met a stranger," Beegle said.

She loves talking about her son but lives with tremendous pain.

"There is a huge hole," she said.

She often wonders what he would be like if he was still alive.

"How would he be? Who would he be?" the mother said. "I can't imagine him any older than 7."

In April 2010, Jonathan was hit by a van and killed while trying to catch the bus to Union Elementary School.

It happened on Medlin Road. Jonathan had to cross the road with a speed limit of 55 mph to reach the bus.

Attorneys for his family said the bus route design had major flaws.

Attorneys Mike Daisley and Sam McGee said Union County Schools did not consider the speed of cars on this road in establishing the bus stop.

Not only did Jonathan have to cross a lane of traffic, but the attorneys also said oncoming traffic did not have enough warning that there was a bus stop.

Buses are required to activate warning lights 300 feet before a stop, but Jonathan's bus turned right onto Medlin Road less than 200 feet before his house.

Attorneys also argue that the bus driver was an experienced supervisor who should have noticed the potential danger but didn't change the route.

"It was an oversight but a very costly oversight," Daisley said.

Beegle said she thinks the school system could have done more to make the bus stop safer.

In 2012, Beegle's attorneys sued the Union County Board of Education over the bus stop design.

"To hold accountable persons who simply did not act with the children's best interest," Daisley said.

The case went to the North Carolina Industrial Commission, which hears cases involving bus route design.

In April, Beegle was awarded $2 million, which is the maximum amount allowed for the verdict.

The N.C. Attorney General's Office appealed the verdict and explained three reasons to Channel 9:

  1. That the commission lacks jurisdiction over the parts of the claim related to the design of the bus route under Martinez v. Wake County Board of Education.
  2. That even if the bus driver failed to report the allegedly unsafe condition of the bus stop to a superior, that failure was not a proximate cause of the injury to Jonathan Beegle.
  3. That even if the bus driver failed to report the allegedly unsafe condition of the bus stop to a superior, it was not reasonably foreseeable that such an alleged failure would cause Ms. Beegle severe emotional distress.

Beegle and her attorneys plan to fight the appeal.

It won't bring back her son, but they hope their case sends a message to school systems beyond Union County.

"What you hope is that they will take a look at their procedures and take a critical look at the safety of their bus stops, not just this county, but all of them," McGee said.

Jonathan was an organ donor.

His kidney, liver, lungs and other organs have saved many lives.

Attorneys said the driver of the van who hit Jonathan was not charged because there was no evidence that he committed the traffic violation of passing a stopped school bus.

The driver, insurance company and the family reached a settlement.

Latos reached out to Union County Schools for comment, and officials said they follow state rules for establishing bus routes.

Cox Media Group

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