Virginia Truck Driver Involved in Wrongful Death Lawsuit | Shapiro, Washburn & Sharp

The parents of a fourth-grader killed in a school bus and big rig collision have filed a wrongful death lawsuit against their school district and a trucking company, as well as the Virginia truck driver involved in the accident.

According to local news sources, 9-year-old Aaron Beauchamp was one of 30 children on a St. Lucie County School District bus in March when the bus driver turned left in front of an oncoming truck owned by Cypress Truck Lines Inc. and driven by Charles Thomas Cooper. The tractor-trailer struck the bus as it was turning, injuring 16 children and killing Beauchamp, the son of Manatee Academy K-8 School Principal Lillian Beauchamp. 

The fatal truck accident is being investigated by local authorities, though an initial report states that bus driver Albert Hazen may have been inattentive when he turned the school bus in front of the truck. However, neither driver has been charged or cited by police yet.

The wrongful death lawsuit states that Cypress Truck Lines Inc. and Charles Thomas Cooper also are responsible for damages. It lists that Cooper did not maintain a proper lookout, did not notice the bus’s left turn signal, did not maintain a safe speed, did not properly observe the bus turning left, and did not apply his brakes in a timely manner. The wrongful death lawsuit also claims that the truck company did not properly inspect the brakes or tires before the crash, did not properly inflate the tires before the crash, did not properly adjust the brakes before the crash, and did not replace defective or worn out tires before the crash. 

The Virginia truck accident attorneys at Shapiro & Appleton extend their condolences to the family of Aaron Beauchamp, and wish a full and quick recovery to the other children who were injured in this tragic accident.