Bus accident adds lawsuit to list

Another person has joined the list of lawsuits related to a May 30 double-decker bus accident that resulted in two deaths.

Eastern student Michael McKenna filed a lawsuit Tuesday against Lincoln Springs Resort, the Graywood Foundation and others, seeking damages for the accident.

According to the complaint, McKenna suffered mental and psychological injuries that resulted from the accident.

McKenna was a passenger on the double-decker bus, provided by Lincoln Springs, when it drove underneath the Interstate 57 overpass bridge, killing former Eastern student Cameron Chana and Justin Sleezer, a Yorkville resident.

Chana and Sleezer died May 31 as a result from head injuries. The families of Chana and Sleezer filed similar lawsuits in October under the Wrongful Death Act.

All suits, including McKenna’s, allege negligence on the behalf of Lincoln Springs, the Graywood Foundaton, which insured the bus, the owner of Lincoln Springs, and the bus driver.

McKenna’s complaint, as well as Chana’s and Sleezer’s, allege, among other things, that the driver failed to provide verbal warnings to passengers riding on the second level of the bus and failed to monitor the conduct of passengers on the second level.

The complaints also allege bus drivers of the double-decker bus service were not given proper and sufficient training. It also alleges that bus drivers were not adequately informed of bus routes and potential hazards of routes.

McKenna’s attorney, Terrence Quinn, of Phillips Law Offices in Chicago, could not be reached for comment.

Previously, the attorney for Chana’s family said the discovery process could take two years to complete. A trial could not happen until that process takes place.

It’s unknown whether McKenna’s attorney will work in cooperation with the attorneys for Chana and Sleezer.

Stephen Di Benedetto can be reached at 581-7942 or sdibenedetto@eiu.edu.