KISSIMMEE, Fla. — The Lynx bus driver who hit and killed a child received a minor traffic ticket. Kissimmee police closed their investigation into the November 4 accident that killed 10-year-old Matthew Robinson.
The driver didn't face stiffer charges because police found no evidence of a crime and no drugs. The driver was ticketed for failing to yield the right of way; Matthew's brother told police they pushed the crosswalk button, but police found no fingerprints there.
The 10-year-old loved eggs and Chinese buffet; that's how his family wants people to remember him. His 13-year-old brother Mark saw his lifeless body under the bus after Mark was struck on the face and shoulder and then dragged under, too, after he grabbed the bike rack.
"They don't want to sue. They don't want to be involved in litigation at all. But if push comes to shove, and that's the only option available, then that's what's going to have to happen," said Jeremy Markman, the family's lawyer.
Kissimmee police say Lynx driver Fernando Vega was 12 minutes behind on his route on the dark and drizzly evening. He told them he did not see the boys until he hit one of them; he swerved to avoid running over him, not knowing he had also hit another child.
Police gave Vega a $166 ticket for failing to yield to pedestrians, but because someone was killed he must face a judge and his license will be suspended for at least six months, maybe a year, and the judge will order an additional fine.
Mark told police Matthew pushed the crosswalk button and once, in his words, "the little white man" appeared, they crossed Columbia at Dyer. Their family says the state's $200,000 cap on lawsuits against Lynx, because it's a government agency, doesn't bring justice.
"$100,000, $200,000 does not equal a little boy's life," Markman said.
WFTV was unable to reach the driver. Lynx said he's still suspended with pay while it investigates.
WFTV checked on claims against Lynx. Between October 2009 and September 2010, there were more than 1,600 claims. Between November 2009 and October 2010, 33 claims were paid out, to the tune of nearly $300,000; $20,000 was the highest payout in those claims.
Previous Stories: November 10, 2010: Lynx Driver Still Not Charged In Boy's Death November 4, 2010: Young Brothers Run Down By Lynx Bus; 1 Killed