Children of Flossmoor Woman Killed in Bus Crash File Lawsuit Against CTA

The children of a 51-year-old Flossmoor woman who died after being struck by a bus last week is suing the driver and the CTA.

In the wrongful death lawsuit, Elaine and John Wilson claim that the driver “failed to control the bus, disregarded a red light and drove at an excessive speed” before striking Aimee Coath. She was pinned under the bus.

“The Coath family was in the midst of planning Aimee’s daughter’s wedding and now this terrible tragedy has struck,” said lawyer Robert A. Clifford, as reported by the Chicago Tribune. “This incident was so avoidable. The driver should have exercised more care in the operation of this bus. Aimee has been described as such a loving mother and a wonderful person. Her death is just so senseless.”

The driver, Donald Barnes, 48, swerved to avoid another car, struck three other cars and ended up on the south side of a pedestrian plaza on Michigan Avenue. Seven other people were also injured. He was cited for running a red light and failing to exercise due care in a deadly crash. The bus was empty at the time of the crash.

Coath was walking to a nearby train station to travel back to Flossmoor, where she was to have dinner with family.

“We know that our lives have now been irreversibly changed and this action can never bring our dear mother back, but there has to be full disclosure of the facts as to why something like this could happen,” Elaine and John Wilson said in a statement released by their attorneys.

“We cannot do this on our own, but through the civil justice system, we feel we will get the answers we want and the closure we need,” they added. “We hope those answers will also improve bus safety to spare others this heartbreak.”

The lawsuit seeks at least $100,000 in damages—$50,000 from Barnes, $50,000 from CTA.