Family of Toddler Killed by Shuttle Bus Plans to Sue Farmer, Towns, Cops

The family of a toddler killed at a Morris County pumpkin patch has filed notice intending to sue more than a dozen public and private entities claiming all involved played a part in creating a dangerous condition, resulting in the tragedy.

According to dailyrecord.com, the estate of Elizabeth “Ella” Fuehring, a 2-year-old girl struck and killed by a shuttle bus at Alstede Farms in Chester Township on Oct. 12, 2014, has served numerous entities with tort claims – notices of intent to sue.

The public entities that could be sued, the report said, include Chester Borough; Chester Township; both municipalities’ police departments; the state’s Department of Agriculture; state Agriculture Development Committee; County of Morris; Morris County Agricultural Development Board; and the Morris County Planning Board.

In addition, the report said, private entities Alstede Farms; Neil McWilliams (the driver of the shuttle bus); State Shuttle of Lake Hopatcong; The Streets of Chester Shopping Center; Historic Chester Business Association; and Hideaway Farm of Plano, Texas could all also be named defendants.

Just after 4:30 p.m. on Sunday, Oct. 12, police responded to a report of motor vehicle crash on the Alstede Farm’s property. They found Elizabeth Fuehring, her mother, Sarah, and family friend Joanna Alemeny had all been struck and pinned between two shuttle buses on the property.

The toddler died as a result of her injuries. Sarah Fuehring and Alemeny had serious but non-life threatening injuries.

The Morris County Prosecutor’s Office spent more than five months investigating the incident and, in late March, deemed the death accidental and did not charge McWilliams with any criminal wrongdoing. During the investigation period, McWilliams, of Flanders, was summonsed for careless driving by the Chester Township Police Department.

Last week McWilliams’ attorney said the driver plans to fight the charge in court.

According to dailyrecord.com, the tort notice received by potential defendants in the lawsuit says:

“The condition of Alstede Farms represented a dangerous condition which created a substantial risk of reasonably foreseeable injury. Further, all persons and/or entities identified herein were on actual and constructive notice of the dangerous condition which existed at Alstede Farms with sufficient time to have taken measures to protect against said dangerous condition. Moreover, no action was taken to protect against the dangerous condition, and such failure was palpably unreasonable in light of the attended circumstances and knowledge of the existence of the condition.”

See related stories:

• Drive in Alstede’s Farm Crash to Fight Careless Driving Ticket
• Results of Alstede Farms Crash That Killed Toddler Determined
• UPDATE: One Dead, Several Injured in Alstede Farms Car Crash, Prosecutor Says
• UPDATE: Girl, 2, Died In Tragic Alstede Farm Crash While ‘Enjoying The Day;’ 2 Adults Injured
• Father of Toddler Killed at Alstede Farms: ‘I Lost a Piece of Me’
• Readers React, Lash Out at Farmer After Toddler Killed By Shuttle Bus
• Sadness, But No Surprise in Wake of Fatal Crash at Alstede’s
• Driver in Pumpkin Farm Crash That Killed Toddler Issued Careless Driving Summons

The weekend of the incident, also a three-day weekend for many in recognition Columbus Day, is known as the busiest of the year at Alstede Farms.

In recent years the growth of Alstede Farms’ amenities has brought in fall weekend customers by the thousands, causing for miles-long traffic backups in Chester Township and the surrounding towns.

In 2013, in an interview with Patch, farm owner Kurt Alstede admitted the need for a change at his business’s Route 24 location, and implemented extra security, paid police officers, and additional entrances and exits to the property with the hopes of getting visitors off the main road sooner.

The incident involving Fuehring, however, occurred on the property in the parking lot.

That article was posted almost a year to the day before Fuehring’s death, and was spurred by a Patch commenter who railed on the farm’s inability to control traffic coming in and out of the location.

See related stories:

• Farmer Takes Steps to Alleviate Weekend Traffic Issues
• Fall Agro-Tourism Traffic in Chester

Chester Township Mayor Bill Cogger told the Daily Record a new local farm ordinance is currently being drafted, but is not ready for the public yet.

Pictured: Kurt Alstede, owner of Alstede Farms in Chester Township.

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