Man sues bus company, manufacturer, driver in fatal bus accident

ATLANTA - The brother of one of seven people killed in a Greyhound bus wreck in Tennessee has sued Greyhound Lines Incorporated, as well as the manufacturer and driver of the bus, claiming their negligence contributed to the deaths from the October third accident. <br> <br> In papers filed December 20th in Fulton County (Georgia) State Court, Willie Hood claims Greyhound and the bus driver, Garfield Sands, did not do enough to prevent a deranged passenger from slashing Sands&#39; throat and forcing the bus to veer off the interstate and overturn near Manchester, Tennessee, about 60 miles southeast of Nashville. <br> <br> Hood&#39;s sister, 68-year-old Fannie Jones of Stone Mountain, Georgia, and five other passengers - including the assailant - on the Florida-bound bus were ejected and died at the scene. A seventh passenger died six days later. <br> <br> Plaintiff&#39;s attorney Tyrone Means said ``Mister Wood just doesn&#39;t think it should have happened to his sister. He thinks that more could have been done to protect the passengers on this bus.&#39;&#39; <br> <br> Motor Coach Industries, which manufactured the bus, is also a named plaintiff. Means said the bus was not properly equipped with passenger seat belts and that windows popped open when the bus overturned. <br> <br> He said all the people who died had been thrown out the windows. <br> <br> A spokeswoman for Greyhound Lines said company attorneys were reviewing the suit but could not comment on its merits. <br> <br> Spokeswoman Kristin Parsley said ``We wish to add, however, that official authorities have investigated this crime and have concluded it was the result of a single deranged individual.&#39;&#39; <br> <br> The FBI believes the assailant, 29-year-old roatian Damir Igric, was acting alone, but no motive has been determined. Croatian media reported that Igric suffered from post-traumatic stress syndrome, common among that nation&#39;s civil war veterans.