Family of a New Jersey high school cheerleader critically injured at bus stop during hit-and-run sues school board
The family of a New Jersey high school cheerleader who was critically injured during a hit-and-run earlier this year is suing the Newark school board for negligence — as the wheelchair-bound victim still struggles to recover from the traumatic event.
Chiara Jones, 19, a senior at Arts High School, had just stepped off the bus after a Feb. 4 cheerleading competition in South Jersey when a maniac driver slammed into her on Martin Luther King Boulevard, according to the lawsuit.
She was hospitalized and in critical condition for weeks, unable to speak or walk because of a traumatic brain injury, according to People.
Months later, she’s still struggling to recover from injuries that her family’s attorney, James Lynch, said are “severe and permanent.”
On Monday, the attorney announced a lawsuit naming the Newark school board, among others, as defendants — and seeking an unspecified amount of damages to offset her soaring legal bills.
The suit also names the bus driver, who allegedly did not extend the vehicle’s stop sign mechanism.
“There are many who bear responsibility in this absolutely heart-wrenching tragedy,” Lynch said in a press release accompanying the suit.
“The two drivers were reckless in operating their vehicles and, moreover, Arts High School and the Newark Board of Education were grossly negligent by failing to properly enforce and supervise essential safety procedures with bus disembarkation.”
The teen’s mother, Tomeika Jones, told News 12 New Jersey back in March that she desperately misses talking with her daughter.
“We’re mourning the loss of a person that used to be,” Jones said. “It’s been a challenge.
“I just never imagined this,” she continued. “We are heartbroken.”
Despite the catastrophic Sunday night accident, the suspect — Mia’Jah Burton, 33 — kept right on driving, according to People.
Cops arrested her about a month later, and charged her with a litany of crimes, including leaving the scene of an accident with serious bodily injuries and assault by auto, the outlet said.
