Lawsuit Filed After School Bus Strikes and Kills Six-Year-Old Girl

The complaint, filed by Corboy & Demetrio in Cook County Circuit Court, asserts that both districts ignored repeated warnings regarding the safety of the child’s drop-off point. Jenna’s mother had previously petitioned District 157-C to alter the route, citing the lack of sidewalks and the requirement for her daughter to cross the street alone. Records indicate the district denied these requests, just as they had rejected similar concerns regarding the family's son in 2022.

On the day of the incident, the bus was operated by a substitute driver recently licensed by District 210. Onboard surveillance footage shows the driver pulling forward while the child was directly in front of the vehicle, reportedly while distracted by a document in his hand. Attorney Daniel S. Kirschner, representing the Menias estate, highlighted internal correspondence from the day of the tragedy, in which the Director of Transportation at District 210 noted severe staffing shortages, describing the environment as a "challenging day" made worse by absenteeism. The family seeks accountability for what they characterize as a preventable and foreseeable loss.