School District Seeks Judge To Split Crash Funds

Clarksville-Montgomery County Schools has filed a federal interpleader lawsuit asking a judge to determine how to distribute $700,000 among the parties making claims following a March school bus crash. The accident killed two 13-year-old students, Zoe Davis and Arianna Pearson, after their driver swerved into oncoming traffic and collided with a dump truck.

The district asserts that Tennessee’s Tort Liability Act limits its required payment to $700,000. Susan Neal Wiley, the attorney representing the Davis family, stated that 24 claimants are involved in the dispute. This group includes the two families who lost daughters and 22 other individuals who were injured on the bus.

Wiley noted that the families are seeking accountability rather than just financial compensation. "There’s no amount of money that would bring Zoe Davis back to her parents," Wiley said. She described the proposed distribution of the funds as "woefully inadequate" given the severity of the incident.

In a separate filing, the district moved to stay the Davis family’s lawsuit, which seeks $5 million in damages. The motion asks a state judge to pause the family’s case while the federal interpleader action is pending. Wiley explained that a stay would halt the family’s efforts to obtain more records and question the bus driver and school officials under oath.

The bus driver reportedly experienced a medical emergency prior to the crash. Wiley said the family wants to understand what the district knew about the driver’s health before the accident. She argued that preventing the families from seeking answers has caused anger within the community.

The district did not respond to a request for comment regarding the new lawsuit. Wiley stated that the Davis family plans to challenge both the interpleader action and the motion to stay in court.

The family’s legal team aims to use the litigation process to uncover details about the driver’s condition. Wiley said that a better understanding of how the crash happened could help prevent similar tragedies from befalling other families in the future.