Family of Hyde Park boy killed by BPS bus says company, driver were negligent, according to new lawsuit
No one has been criminally charged in the crash, which remains under investigation by the Suffolk District Attorney's office and Boston police.
Charles resigned in May, shortly before a scheduled termination hearing, city and district leaders have said. The Globe has been unable to reach him, and city and state officials have declined to release any identifying information about the driver except for his name.
About a month after the crash, Mayor Michelle Wu and Superintendent Mary Skipper announced an independent probe into the company's
safety policies and performance.
Related
:
Transdev, an $11 billion French company with US headquarters in Illinois, has served as BPS's bus contractor since 2013. BPS contracts with the company to maintain the district's bus fleet, its three bus yards, and hire and manage school bus drivers, the district has said.
Advertisement
Transdev didn't immediately respond to a request for comment in response to the lawsuit.
'We are committed to ensuring that Lens Joseph's life will not be defined by his death. We are steadfast in seeking justice for Lens and his family members, and we will not waver in that pursuit,' said the family's attorneys, Matthew Fogelman and Alan Klevan, in a statement.
The Joseph family
The Joseph family lawsuit seeks a jury trial, and asks for 'damages in an amount sufficient to compensate them' for their injuries, pain and suffering, and expenses, the complaint said.
The Josephs' complaint includes details that have been previously released by city and school officials regarding Lens's death.
Charles, who had been driving for about two years as a BPS bus
driver for Transdev, had been in a series of crashes prior to Lens's death. Charles had been removed from the road by Transdev for training less than two weeks before the fatal Hyde Park crash, according to details previously released by
Advertisement
On the day of the crash, Charles was serving as a substitute school bus driver, and had never taken the route that included Lens and his cousin, the city and school leaders have said. A few minutes before the crash in Hyde Park, Charles struck a vehicle in Mattapan before leaving the scene, the Globe has reported.
Charles did not follow protocol and report to a school bus yard safety office
the collision, which happened while Lens, his cousin, and other children were aboard the bus, officials have said.
Related
:
The Joseph family's complaint alleges Transdev was negligent in the hiring, training, and supervision of its drivers. It was also 'negligently implementing' policies and procedures for the safe transportation of children on buses, the complaint said.
Transdev also failed to use safety equipment on the buses, which are owned by BPS, according to the complaint. That includes stop-arm cameras, extended stop arms, crossing arms, surround cameras, pedestrian detection sensors, and automatic braking systems, the complaint said.
Charles, the bus driver, acted 'negligently and/or recklessly' within the scope of his employment, according to the complaint.
Neither the city of Boston or Boston Public Schools are named as defendants in the complaint.
Lens's cousin also has been deeply impacted by the crash. She feared for her own safety while watching the bus run over Lens, and she has suffered severe emotional distress as a result, including anxiety, depression, sadness, fear, and sleep disturbances, the complaint said.
Lens's aunt and grandmother witnessed the moments immediately after the collision and also were traumatized by it, the lawsuit said.
Since the crash, Transdev audited its drivers to ensure they had appropriate and valid credentials, Wu and Skipper have said.
Advertisement
BPS has also strengthened its safety protocols since the Hyde Park crash, including regular meetings with Transdev safety leadership to review all crashes and safety incidents, and the company's responses.
There are about 400 'incidents' per year involving a BPS school bus, the city and school officials have said, generally one or two crashes per day across the fleet. Most involve minimal damage, they have said.
They also said Transdev was accelerating regular refresher training of all drivers on pickup, drop-off, and crash protocols.
Concerns about Boston Public Schools bus safety remain. The City Council's Education Committee,
John Hilliard can be reached at
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
4 hours ago
- Yahoo
French president, first lady sue Nashville influencer Candace Owens for 'relentless bullying'
French President Emmanuel Macron and his wife Brigitte filed a defamation lawsuit in Delaware on July 23 against right-wing influencer and Nashville resident Candace Owens over her recent video series claiming that France's first lady is biologically male. The Macrons said in a lawsuit filed in Delaware Superior Court that Owens has waged a lie-filled "campaign of global humiliation" and "relentless bullying" to promote her podcast and expand her "frenzied" fan base. The filings are referring to a 6-part video series Owens began earlier this year titled 'Becoming Brigitte,' in which Owens accuses Brigitte Macron, 72, of being born under the name Jean-Michel Trogneux—the actual name of her older brother. The lawsuit accuses Owens of spreading 'outlandish, defamatory, and far-fetched fictions' such as Brigitte Macron being a man who 'stole another person's identity, and transitioned to become Brigitte; Mrs. Macron and President Macron are blood relatives committing incest; President Macron was chosen to be the President of France as part of the CIA-operated MKUltra program or a similar mind-control program; and Mrs. Macron and President Macron are committing forgery, fraud, and abuses of power to conceal these secrets.' "Every time the Macrons leave their home, they do so knowing that countless people have heard, and many believe, these vile fabrications," the complaint said. "It is invasive, dehumanizing, and deeply unjust." The 22-count complaint seeks an unspecified amount of compensatory and punitive damages, as well as a jury trial. The Macrons are being represented by Clare Lock, a boutique defamation law firm that settled against Fox News in 2023 on behalf of Dominion voting systems following the network's claims of Dominion rigging the 2020 election. In a video livestreamed on her YouTube channel Wednesday afternoon, Owens announced that she had been 'sued by the first lady man of France.' 'This is just goofy,' she said. Conservative-media: Is Nashville the nation's new conservative-media nerve center? Owens went on to call the lawsuit an 'obvious and desperate public relations strategy,' and recommended that Macron fire 'everyone' who told her it was a 'very good idea' to be the first sitting first lady of a foreign country to 'file a lawsuit against a journalist of another country.' 'You are literally making history in all the wrong ways,' she said. Owens, who moved to Nashville in 2020, previously teased a second season of the video series, claiming to have information that could force Emmanuel Macron to 'step down.' 'My series has been the undoing of them,' she said. Wednesday's lawsuit is a rare case of a world leader suing for defamation. President Donald Trump has filed multiple defamation lawsuits, including against the publisher of The Wall Street Journal last week. To prevail in U.S. defamation cases, public figures like the Macrons and Trump must show defendants engaged in "actual malice," meaning they knew what they published was false or had reckless disregard for its truth. Reuters reporters Jonathan Stempel and Michel Rose contributed to this report. The USA TODAY Network - The South region's coverage of First Amendment issues is funded through a collaboration between the Freedom Forum and Journalism Funding Partners. Have a story to tell? Reach Angele Latham by email at alatham@ by phone at 931-623-9485, or follow her on Twitter at @angele_latham This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Nashville influencer Candace Owens sued by French president
The Hill
9 hours ago
- The Hill
France's new prison regime for drug kingpins shines the spotlight on a possible successor to Macron
PARIS (AP) — They are France 's most dangerous drug kingpins, according to the country's justice minister — prison inmates so wealthy and powerful that even behind bars, they can continue to order assassinations, run narco-trafficking operations and launder money. Flexing his powers as minister in charge of the French penal system, Gérald Darmanin's solution to the problem is contentious. He is moving 100 inmates — men he describes as 'France's biggest criminals' — into an austere maximum security penitentiary in the country's north that critics say has echoes of tough U.S. prisons. The move is also possibly vote-catching for Darmanin, who has joined a growing field of possible successors to President Emmanuel Macron after the next election, less than two years away. Behind high walls and watch towers In the newly reinforced Vendin-le-Vieil prison, the selected inmates will be locked in individual cells for 23 hours on most days. Largely cut off from the world, Darmanin argues they will no longer be able to fuel drug-related violence, which has become a political issue ahead of the 2027 presidential election. 'We are here to guarantee that they don't speak to the outside, that they don't continue their trafficking outside, that they don't corrupt prison officers, magistrates, police officers and gendarmes,' Darmanin said on primetime evening television after the first 17 inmates were transferred this week to Vendin-le-Vieil from other, less secure facilities. France has had a long history of both notorious prisons (the Bastille) and prisoners — both real (Napoleon) and fictional ('The Count of Monte Cristo'). Still, Vendin-le-Vieil's lock-up conditions are exceptional, similar to the ultra-secure 'Supermax' prison in the United States and Italy's tough 'carcere duro' incarceration rules for Mafia members. Vendin-le-Vieil already houses some of France's most infamous prisoners — including Salah Abdeslam, lone survivor of a team of Islamic State extremists that terrorized Paris in 2015, killing 130 people in gun and bomb attacks. To make way for the specially selected 100 inmates — some already convicted, others in pre-trial detention — many other Vendin-le-Vieil inmates were moved out. The newcomers will be grouped together in the prison's new 'Section for Combatting Organized Crime,' with reinforced security and regulations, and equipped with systems to block mobile phone signals and drones. Among those on the list for Vendin-le-Vieil is Mohamed Amra, nicknamed 'The Fly,' who staged an escape last year that killed two guards and then fled to Romania before he was captured and returned to France. 'Extremely hard' conditions The newcomers will have just one hour a day in a prison exercise yard, in groups of no more than five. The rest of the time, they will mostly be confined to individual cells fitted with holes so prison guards can handcuff them before moving them and with ratchet systems so inmates can't yank the doors open or shut when they have to be unlocked. They will be guarded by 250 wardens — elsewhere, the ratio is usually 20 guards to 100 inmates, Darmanin told French broadcaster TF1. Instead of unlimited calls with family members from prison phones, they will be limited to a maximum of two hours, twice a week — a restriction that Darmanin says will make monitoring their conversations easier. Prison visiting rooms have also been equipped with security glass dividers, to prevent physical contact between inmates and visitors. Darmanin says this will prevent mobile phones and other contraband from being smuggled in. The new Vendin-le-Vieil inmates also won't have the rights accorded in other prisons of intimate time with partners and family members. Darmanin said the conditions will be 'extremely hard' but are necessary because France risks 'tipping into narco-banditry' in the absence of tough decisions. Mental health concerns Critics say Darmanin is taking a gamble by grouping together so many inmates he describes as dangerous. 'From what I know, even when they're placed under the strictest isolation, they're so smart that they always find ways to communicate with each other,' said May Sarah Vogelhut, an attorney for one of the 17 prisoners transferred this week. 'It's almost more like a networking club for billionaire narco-traffickers.' She and others also say the tough conditions could inflict an unacceptable toll on the prisoners' mental health. Vogelhut said her 22-year-old client was a major drug dealer in the southern French port city of Marseille and was convicted and sentenced to 25 years for torturing his victims. He is appealing his sentence. Held in isolation in another prison before his transfer to Vendin-le-Vieil, his biggest concern was the glass barrier that will prevent him from hugging his mother and touching other visitors, Vogelhut said. 'What shocks me the most in this new detention center is that the visits happen through a security glass intercom — you know, like what we French see in American movies, when the person is behind a glass and you talk through a phone,' she said. 'I find that inhumane. I mean, imagine that a guy spends 10 years there — for 10 years, he can't hug his mother?' she said. 'I think it's going to dehumanize them.' More high-security units planned First as a minister for public accounts, then as interior minister and since last December as justice minister, Darmanin has proven to be one of Macron's most loyal lieutenants. His close ties with the unpopular president, who can't run again, could work against Darmanin if he runs in 2027. But his government experience and tough-on-crime rhetoric could work in his favor with voters. Darmanin has announced plans for at least two other high-security prison units for convicted and accused drug traffickers, one of them in the overseas territory of French Guiana. Vogelhut accuses Darmanin of angling for votes and playing on 'French people's fears and anxieties.' 'It won't solve any problems,' she said. 'There won't be any less crime.'
Hamilton Spectator
9 hours ago
- Hamilton Spectator
France's new prison regime for drug kingpins shines the spotlight on a possible successor to Macron
PARIS (AP) — They are France 's most dangerous drug kingpins, according to the country's justice minister — prison inmates so wealthy and powerful that even behind bars, they can continue to order assassinations, run narco-trafficking operations and launder money. Flexing his powers as minister in charge of the French penal system, Gérald Darmanin's solution to the problem is contentious. He is moving 100 inmates — men he describes as 'France's biggest criminals' — into an austere maximum security penitentiary in the country's north that critics say has echoes of tough U.S. prisons. The move is also possibly vote-catching for Darmanin, who has joined a growing field of possible successors to President Emmanuel Macron after the next election, less than two years away. Behind high walls and watch towers In the newly reinforced Vendin-le-Vieil prison, the selected inmates will be locked in individual cells for 23 hours on most days. Largely cut off from the world, Darmanin argues they will no longer be able to fuel drug-related violence, which has become a political issue ahead of the 2027 presidential election. 'We are here to guarantee that they don't speak to the outside, that they don't continue their trafficking outside, that they don't corrupt prison officers, magistrates, police officers and gendarmes,' Darmanin said on primetime evening television after the first 17 inmates were transferred this week to Vendin-le-Vieil from other, less secure facilities. France has had a long history of both notorious prisons (the Bastille) and prisoners — both real (Napoleon) and fictional ('The Count of Monte Cristo'). Still, Vendin-le-Vieil's lock-up conditions are exceptional, similar to the ultra-secure 'Supermax' prison in the United States and Italy's tough 'carcere duro' incarceration rules for Mafia members. Vendin-le-Vieil already houses some of France's most infamous prisoners — including Salah Abdeslam , lone survivor of a team of Islamic State extremists that terrorized Paris in 2015 , killing 130 people in gun and bomb attacks. To make way for the specially selected 100 inmates — some already convicted, others in pre-trial detention — many other Vendin-le-Vieil inmates were moved out. The newcomers will be grouped together in the prison's new 'Section for Combatting Organized Crime,' with reinforced security and regulations, and equipped with systems to block mobile phone signals and drones. Among those on the list for Vendin-le-Vieil is Mohamed Amra, nicknamed 'The Fly,' who staged an escape last year that killed two guards and then fled to Romania before he was captured and returned to France. 'Extremely hard' conditions The newcomers will have just one hour a day in a prison exercise yard, in groups of no more than five. The rest of the time, they will mostly be confined to individual cells fitted with holes so prison guards can handcuff them before moving them and with ratchet systems so inmates can't yank the doors open or shut when they have to be unlocked. They will be guarded by 250 wardens — elsewhere, the ratio is usually 20 guards to 100 inmates, Darmanin told French broadcaster TF1. Instead of unlimited calls with family members from prison phones, they will be limited to a maximum of two hours, twice a week — a restriction that Darmanin says will make monitoring their conversations easier. Prison visiting rooms have also been equipped with security glass dividers, to prevent physical contact between inmates and visitors. Darmanin says this will prevent mobile phones and other contraband from being smuggled in. The new Vendin-le-Vieil inmates also won't have the rights accorded in other prisons of intimate time with partners and family members. Darmanin said the conditions will be 'extremely hard' but are necessary because France risks 'tipping into narco-banditry' in the absence of tough decisions. Mental health concerns Critics say Darmanin is taking a gamble by grouping together so many inmates he describes as dangerous. 'From what I know, even when they're placed under the strictest isolation, they're so smart that they always find ways to communicate with each other,' said May Sarah Vogelhut, an attorney for one of the 17 prisoners transferred this week. 'It's almost more like a networking club for billionaire narco-traffickers.' She and others also say the tough conditions could inflict an unacceptable toll on the prisoners' mental health. Vogelhut said her 22-year-old client was a major drug dealer in the southern French port city of Marseille and was convicted and sentenced to 25 years for torturing his victims. He is appealing his sentence. Held in isolation in another prison before his transfer to Vendin-le-Vieil, his biggest concern was the glass barrier that will prevent him from hugging his mother and touching other visitors, Vogelhut said. 'What shocks me the most in this new detention center is that the visits happen through a security glass intercom — you know, like what we French see in American movies, when the person is behind a glass and you talk through a phone,' she said. 'I find that inhumane. I mean, imagine that a guy spends 10 years there — for 10 years, he can't hug his mother?' she said. 'I think it's going to dehumanize them.' More high-security units planned First as a minister for public accounts, then as interior minister and since last December as justice minister, Darmanin has proven to be one of Macron's most loyal lieutenants. His close ties with the unpopular president, who can't run again, could work against Darmanin if he runs in 2027. But his government experience and tough-on-crime rhetoric could work in his favor with voters. Darmanin has announced plans for at least two other high-security prison units for convicted and accused drug traffickers, one of them in the overseas territory of French Guiana. Vogelhut accuses Darmanin of angling for votes and playing on 'French people's fears and anxieties.' 'It won't solve any problems,' she said. 'There won't be any less crime.' Error! Sorry, there was an error processing your request. There was a problem with the recaptcha. Please try again. You may unsubscribe at any time. By signing up, you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy . This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google privacy policy and terms of service apply. Want more of the latest from us? Sign up for more at our newsletter page .
