|
|
| Jury orders MTA to pay parents $1.9 million after their son was fatally hit in 2009 bus accident (264946) | |||
 |
|||
| Home > BusChat | |||
|
[ Read Responses | Post a New Response | Return to the Index ] |
|
||
|
Jury orders MTA to pay parents $1.9 million after their son was fatally hit in 2009 bus accident |
|
|
Posted by Gold_12TH on Wed Aug 8 07:01:57 2012 The MTA gave Jeremy Philhower the keys to a 35,000-pound (MCI D4500) bus when it should have given him a broom.It was a tragic and costly mistake. On his first day back from a suspension for texting while driving, Philhower ran over and killed a 22-year-old artist crossing a street in midtown in November of 2009. It was deemed an accident. An avoidable accident. Now, more than two years later, a Manhattan jury has ordered the Metropolitan Transportation Authority to pay Seth Kahn’s parents $1.9 million, although no amount of money will fill the void left by their son’s death. “This clearly was an event that never should have happened,” family lawyer Denise Dunleavy said. Approximately seven weeks before the accident, a concerned rider complained to the MTA that Philhower was texting behind the wheel. The NYC Transit division conducted an internal investigation. Not only was Philhower texting while on duty, he was writing some frightening comments on his Facebook page, officials said. They included: “Thinking about how many people i want 2 kill 2day including myself” “I really wanna kick the shit out of all of them” “People on my bus revere me as a god” An investigator also observed Philhower reading the newspaper while stopped at a red light. His existing track record wasn’t pristine. It already included two red-light violations and a reprimand for “reckless operation of a bus.” The MTA made the right first move. It suspended Philhower and took steps to fire him. But when it was overruled by a contract arbitrator who thought the punishment was too harsh, the MTA simply swept its concerns under the rug and moved on. After a brief period of refresher training, Philhower was back behind the wheel of an express bus on Nov. 4. He was heading to a depot and, apparently to avoid traffic, went off the route he was supposed to take, authorities said. He struck Kahn, of Mamaroneck, while turning at Ninth Ave. and 53rd St. MTA drivers are instructed not to exceed 5 mph when making a turn, but Philhower was going two or three times faster, according to a state Public Transportation Safety Board report. He also failed to “scan appropriately” for pedestrians, according to the report. The MTA tried to fire Philhower again but failed. “After the fatality on Nov. 4, 2009, the Authority sought Mr. Philhower’s dismissal,” the MTA said in a statement Friday. “However, Mr Philhower’s case never made it to arbitration. He applied for and received a disability retirement and is no longer working for the Transit Authority.” The MTA is now “a lot more aggressive in removing drivers from service who don’t belong in service,” a spokesman said. The authority also is presenting stronger cases to arbitrators and enforcing a tougher set of disciplinary rules regarding cell phone use, MTA Inspector General Barry Kluger added. That’s all to the good, but for one family it’s too damn late. --- http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/jury-orders-mta-pay-parents-1-9-million-son-seth-kahn-fatally-hit-2009-bus-accident-article-1.1129633#ixzz22x2qXALT |
|
|
|