A civil action was filed on June 13 connected the bus accident which occurred on June 6 on Highway 728 in Hart County. Plaintiffs in the case are Maci Thomas by and through her parents, Kevin Thomas and Anita Thomas; Christian Reynolds, by and through his parents, Jeremy Reynolds and Samantha Reynolds; Clisty Humphrey, by and through her parents, Daniel Humphrey and Cara Willoughby.

The defendants are listed as Timothy P. Saum, who was the bus driver, Southwestern, Illinois Bus Company d/b/a New Image Travel and Worldstrides International, LLC. The bus involved was chartered through an agreement with Worldstrides International for an educational trip for students, teachers and parents to Washington, D.C.

The civil action alleges that Saum, “negligently, carelessly, recklessly and maliciously maintained, operated and controlled the commercial passenger bus on which the plaintiffs…were passengers so as to cause the bus to leave the roadway and crash, causing injury to each of the Plaintiffs…as well as numerous other students, teachers and parents.

The civil action also states that prior to taking responsibility for the care, safety, and well-being of the Plaintiffs, Saum drove the commercial passenger bus from Chicago, Illinois to Cub Run, a drive of approximately eight hours. The civil action continues, “Defendant Saum then planned to drive the students, teachers, and parents to Washington, D.C., a drive of approximately eight hours. This would have required Saum to drive a total of sixteen hours. Federal regulations prohibit a driver from operating a commercial passenger bus more than eleven hours at a time.”

The civil action contends that Saum consumed numerous high energy drinks on the trip from Chicago to Cub Run and preliminary estimates have him speeding at upwards to 68 miles per hour “…on a winding, hilly country road before losing control of the bus and crashing it.”

The civil action continues, “Teachers and parents repeatedly told Saum to slow down. People on board the bus and following it called 911 to report it.”