A SEPTA bus hit her husband, killing him. Kayla Spooner is now suing the agency and bus manufacturer.
The negligence, wrongful death, and products liability suit lays blame on the mirror mounted on the left side of the bus, which Spooner’s attorney claims creates blind spots for operators.
Kayla Spooner has not taken SEPTA since the night a Route 64 bus struck and killed her husband.
“Every time I see a 64 bus, I cringe,” said Spooner. “Specifically if I’m crossing the street and I see a bus, I’m looking backward now to make sure that I’m not in the way.”
Michael Spooner, 35, died at the scene at the intersection of South Front Street and Washington Avenue on Jan. 3. The couple was on their way to a date night at the movies, just blocks from their home.
His wife, who dove underneath the bus to try to administer aid, said she’s been left to manage her own injuries while trying to process the death of her husband with no answers from the transit agency.
Spooner filed a civil suit against SEPTA, Minnesota-based New Flyer America, and New Flyer Canada, which supplied the bus, in Philadelphia Common Pleas Court on Wednesday. The negligence, wrongful death, and products liability suit lays blame on the mirror mounted on the left side of the bus, which Spooner’s attorney claims creates blind spots for operators.
The transit agency and New Flyer declined to comment on pending litigation.
The crash took place as the couple crossed the intersection. The suit says they had a green pedestrian light when the bus turned into them.
The suit claims that SEPTA has had issues with the bus mirrors since the agency got the buses, though there’s no mention of when that was. Bus drivers complained of blind spots in the 15” x 8” mirrors, which resulted in “numerous left-sided collisions with pedestrians,” according to the suit.
As a result, the suit alleges SEPTA and New Flyer swapped the original mirror with one three inches smaller in length. Except, the suit says, the blind spot issue remained because the mirror placement was unchanged.
To address the issue, SEPTA’s chief officer, Michael Liberi, suggested drivers try to get the best vantage point of pedestrians in a crosswalk by moving “forward, and back, and right to left,” said the suit.
The bus that hit the Spooners came equipped with the smaller mirror, and the suit alleges New Flyer “did not warn SEPTA or pedestrians of any risks associated with the blind spot their design created.” The suit accuses the bus company of ignoring “industry-accepted safety innovations,” such as cameras or sensors that could help mitigate limited visibility issues for drivers making left-hand turns.
SEPTA is accused of deeming the blind spot an “acceptable risk.”
The suit further claims the bus operator was negligent while operating the bus, accusing him of traveling “at a high and excessive rate of speed under the circumstances.”
“SEPTA and New Flyer must be held accountable for this entirely preventable tragedy, and must immediately take action to eliminate these dangerous blind spots before another Philadelphian is struck and killed by one of their buses,” said Jordan Strokovsky, Spooner’s attorney.
Spooner said seeing her husband die and experiencing muscle and nerve injuries to her arm and leg, which she fears may be permanent, has left her feeling a wide range of emotional distress, including anguish, sleeplessness, depression, and fear of death. She is seeking reimbursement for current and future medical expenses, as well as lost wages.
The lawsuit asks for damages that exceed $50,000, which is the limit for compulsory arbitration in the Philadelphia court.
Spooner said the suit is an attempt to hold SEPTA and New Flyer accountable and prevent any other family from going through what she’s going through.
“We did nothing wrong,” she said. “There is a difference between an accident and negligence.”