Last Updated on January 12, 2023 by CCAR Staff
LOS ANGELES >> The parents of a 19-year-old autistic man who was found dead after being left alone on a Whittier school bus filed a wrongful-death lawsuit today against the bus transportation company.
Eun Ha Lee and Sang Sik Lee contend in their Los Angeles Superior Court lawsuit that Pupil Transportation Cooperative had policies in place designed to prevent students from being left on buses, but they were not followed, and “this tragedy which needlessly took their beloved son away from them should have never happened.”
Hun Joon “Paul” Lee, 19, of Whittier, was found unresponsive around 4:15 p.m. Sept. 11 aboard the bus, which was parked at the PTC bus depot at 9402 Greenleaf Ave. in Whittier, according to police and fire officials. Bus drivers who found him tried to perform CPR, as did paramedics who arrived at the scene, but Lee was pronounced dead.
PTC officials could not be reached late today for comment.
According to police, Lee rode the bus to a transition program at the Sierra Education Center near Sierra Vista High School at about 8:30 a.m. Friday, and should have boarded it to return home by 4 p.m. When he didn’t get home on time, his mother called the school district, which called Pupil Transportation, leading to his discovery by the driver.
The lawsuit contends that Lee never got off the bus at school and the driver returned to the bus depot, “locked it and left” with Lee still inside.
“September 11, 2015, was a typical hot summer day with temperatures nearing 100 degrees,” according to the lawsuit, which claims that PTC officials left Lee on the bus “all morning and all afternoon.”
The lawsuit claims the company employees failed “to do a mandatory and routine sweep of the subject bus prior to exiting, especially considering that there were only three children on the subject bus who were of special needs.” The bus operator also failed “to document or confirm (Lee’s) arrival at school,” failed to escort him off the bus and “neglected to pay attention to (Lee) for an extended period of time during the bus ride and failed to recognize, respond to or assist (Lee) in any manner.”
The lawsuit seeks unspecified damages.
In the days after Lee’s death, PTC officials announced a series of policy changes designed to prevent anyone from being left on a bus.
Spokesman Tom DeLapp said the company implemented a “team checking system so no one individual can sign off on the fact a bus is clear.” He said two adults will have to walk the bus before it is cleared.
The company also planned to hire a school-bus safety expert to “help advise us on whether we have the highest safety standards we can have.” It also outfitted its buses with “electronic notification systems,” which require drivers to walk to the back of the bus before the vehicle can be cleared.
DeLapp said the company reached out to Lee’s family, and the company’s board voted to donate $10,000 to the family to help cover funeral and other costs.
