Parents File Lawsuit over Fatal School Bus Crash in Kentucky

The parents of a teenager killed when a dump truck crashed into a school bus on a curvy northern Kentucky highway filed a lawsuit.

Daniel Wood’s parents are alleging negligence by the trucking company and the driver in the May 1 crash on Highway 22 near Falmouth.

The lawsuit was filed May 2 in Pendleton Circuit Court by the family’s attorney, Phil Taliaferro.

“The parents are devastated. It’s just awful,” Taliaferro told The Kentucky Enquirer. “This is a tragedy that, in their lives, is unparalleled.”

Authorities say the school bus was carrying 11 children when the truck crossed the center line and struck the rear of the bus on the driver’s side, where Daniel, 16, was sitting. Both drivers and 10 children suffered minor injuries.

Truck driver Francisco Yulfo of Grant County was hauling stones for West Liberty-based XXL Trucking when the crash happened. Officials say his load was within the legal limit.

XXL Trucking owner Danny Ray Fannin didn’t return messages from the newspaper seeking comment, but told WLWT-TV in Cincinnati that he blamed road conditions for the crash.

“I think it was that big dip in the road, and it just throwed him, and once it happened, it happened,” Fannin told the station.

A phone number could not be located for Yulfo.

Taliaferro said he filed for a court order to preserve company records about maintenance on the truck and Yulfo’s training and personnel records. A hearing was set for May 7.