Bus Driver Hurt In Fern Hollow Bridge Collapse Sues City: Reports
PITTSBURGH, PA — A Pittsburgh Regional Transit bus driver who was injured when the Fern Hollow Bridge collapsed two years ago has filed a lawsuit against the city and three engineering firms, accusing them of negligence and failing to address ongoing structural issues with the bridge, according to multiple reports. Daryl Luciani and his wife, Karen, filed the lawsuit against the city of Pittsburgh, as well as engineering firms CDM Smith Inc., Gannett Fleming Inc. and Larson Design Group, according to a TribLive.com report citing court documents. Luciani was one of several people injured in January 2022 when the collapse of the city-owned Fern Hollow span sent five vehicles and a bus plummeting into a ravine in Frick Park.In its final report, the National Transportation Safety Board said the bridge should have been closed before its collapse and that local officials repeatedly ignored maintenance and repair reports, some of which dated back to 2005. Failure to address those reports caused the bridge to deteriorate and eventually collapse, the agency found.The 41-page lawsuit filed by the Lucianis describes the fear Luciani said he felt as the bridge collapsed beneath his articulated bus, according to court documents obtained by the Pittsburgh Post Gazette. Luciani then realized the collapse ruptured a large natural gas line and he worried an explosion might kill him.“Mr. Luciani immediately called his wife to tell her that he loved her, thinking that he would never see her again,” attorneys wrote in the lawsuit.Luciani suffered a rotator cuff tear in the collapse, according to the Post-Gazette, and his left shoulder required total replacement surgery.Dentist Clinton Runco and his wife also filed suit Thursday, according to reports. Runco broke his neck, sternum and several ribs in the collapse. Other plaintiffs expected to file Thursday included the bus’s two passengers, Matthew Evans and Anna Nichols, and motorist Joseph Engelmeier.Those who already filed formal complaints include Velva and Tyrone Perry, who were hurt when their pickup fell into the gorge below the bridge, and Thomas Bench, and his wife, Sara, reports said.A spokesperson for the city did not immediately return Patch's request for comment.The article Bus Driver Hurt In Fern Hollow Bridge Collapse Sues City: Reports appeared first on Pittsburgh, PA Patch.
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