Woman sues King County Metro after being ran over by bus

A woman is suing King County Metro and one of its bus drivers, after a bus hit her and she had to get her leg amputated.

RENTON, Wash. - A woman is suing King County Metro and one of its drivers, after a bus ran her over and required her to get a leg amputated.

The lawsuit claims the bus driver ran her over back in March while she was lying on a sidewalk near the Renton Transit Center.

Attorneys for Jessica Chapel say their client was homeless at the time, and wanted to lay down and rest.

They say the bus driver was rounding a corner, but cut the turn short, bumping the rear bus tires up onto the sidewalk—and on top of Chapel's legs. Attorneys claim the bus driver initially showed concern, and pressed a priority button and told Chapel that help was on the way.

But then, they say she drove forward off the sidewalk, checked on Chapel again, then got back on the bus and left.

Dispatch reached out to the driver as she was pulling away, and they told them to disregard her earlier call. Chapel was left on the sidewalk with extreme injuries, with blood pooling on the sidewalk and help never arrived, attorneys say. People passing by eventually found Chapel and called police immediately.

Attorneys say Chapel sustained life-altering injuries, including having to have her leg amputated.

"In my 40 years of practicing as a personal injury lawyer, I've never heard of facts so outrageous and egregious. The idea that a professional driver, a Metro driver, could roll a bus over a human being—then talk to her, leave her in a pool of blood, dying, bleeding out," said attorney Kirk Bernard. "There are very short minutes that you have to live when you have these type of injuries."

He says his client will be impacted for the rest of her life, and he looks forward to bringing the case before a jury.

FOX 13 News reached out to King County Metro for comment, who responded with the following statement:

"We have high standards for all of our staff, and for their conduct and professionalism. As part of the extensive training that operators receive, they are clearly instructed to request help and to remain at the scene in an incident such as this. This incident is not representative of Metro, or of its thousands of other operators and employees supporting our community."

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