It's been almost a year since eight people were killed when a North Carolina church bus carrying members of a senior adult group crashed on their way home from an event in Gatlinburg.
Now, 12 survivors of the crash and family members of five of those killed have filed a lawsuit against the makers of the tire that caused the crash, and the driver.
The lawsuit was filed last week in Iredell County, North Carolina.
The suit claims that Hankook Tires knew that the tires had "design or manufacturing defects" and were "negligently and defectively manufactured."
The estate of the driver of the bus, Randy Morrison, is also named in the suit. It claims he was "negligent in his maintaining and operation of the bus." Morrison and his wife, Barbara, were killed in the crash.
The Tennessee Highway Patrol concluded in their investigation that the left front tire of the bus failed while it was traveling on I-40 in Jefferson County. The bus crossed the median, hitting a truck and an SUV, before catching fire. Six members of Front Street Baptist Church in Statesville were killed, along with a man from Powell in the SUV.
The plaintiffs are seeking damages for medical costs, continued care and pain, suffering and emotional distress from the crash. They are also seeking punitive damages of at least $10,000 per person. They have asked for a jury trial.
Most of the focus in the lawsuit is on Hankook Tires. It appears that Morrison was included in the suit to prevent the company from laying the blame on driver.
The suit reads "Plaintiffs believe that the Hankook defendant will contend in this case, as they do in virtually every case, that Randy Morrison breached his duty to exercise reasonable care by negligently operating and/or maintaing the church bus and the subject tire."
The estate of Morrison's wife is listed as one of the plaintiffs in the case.
We reached out to Hankook Tires for a statement. They said their attorney's were handling the case but declined to say which firm was representing them.
Lawsuit plaintiffs:
Marvin Boyer, Sr.
Sandra Boyer
Benny Elledge
Joanna Elledge
Norma Hellard
Brenda Jolly
Wanda Martin
Estate of Cloyce Matheny
Edward McLelland
Estate of Marsha McLelland
Estate of Barbara Morrison
Estate of Brenda Smith
Thomas Smith
Doris Swaim
Steven Swaim
Beverly Wright
Estate of John Wright
