Teen injured in deadly 2015 Ferndale crash sues driver who hit him, school district
A young man who was severely injured when an SUV crashed into a group of high school students, two of whom died, is suing the Ferndale School District and the driver, according to documents filed in Whatcom County Superior Court.
William Jeffrey Klein, 37, admitted he fell asleep at the wheel of his car and crashed into the group of students who were on an unauthorized class field trip in June 2015. Klein was acquitted in May 2016 of all criminal charges relating to the accident near Ferndale.
Michael “Andy” Brewster and his parents, Michael and Joyce Brewster, filed a civil personal injury lawsuit June 7 against the Ferndale School District and Klein seeking damages for Andy Brewster’s past and future medical expenses and transportation, loss and impairment of ability to enjoy life, mental and physical pain and suffering, disfigurement, lost wages and earning capacity and other damages.
The lawsuit alleges that on June 10, 2015, Windward High School gym teacher Robert “Evan” Ritchie took his afternoon class of roughly 25 students on a walk along Smith Road. The lawsuit states the walk was not an authorized school field trip, there was inadequate supervision for the number of students and it put the students in a dangerous environment and unnecessarily in harm’s way. Ritchie failed to follow the proper school district protocols and safety procedures, plan a safe route or get parental consent, the lawsuit states. Because Ritchie was a school district employee at the time and was acting in his official employment duties, the school district is liable, the lawsuit argues.
“Defendant Ferndale School District failed to protect its students and failed to adequately train its agents and employees to follow its own safety rules. Two students unnecessarily lost their lives as a result of this unauthorized trip and two more students were horribly injured,” the lawsuit states.
Shortly after 1:30 p.m., Brewster and three other boys were walking east on West Smith Road near Graveline Road where an eastbound black Toyota 4Runner swerved slightly to the left before over-correcting to the right and veering three feet onto the sidewalk, striking the boys.
Brewster, then 17, of Custer and Kole A. Randall, then 17, of Ferndale had broken legs and other injuries, including to their heads. Two other boys, Shane Lawrence Ormiston, 18, and Gabriel Lewis Anderson, 15, both of Ferndale, died at the scene. Ormiston had just celebrated his graduation the day before, and Anderson was a recent transfer who was finishing out his freshman year.
Klein was driving the vehicle that hit the boys and was acquitted May 4, 2016 of two counts of vehicular homicide with a disregard for the safety of others and two counts of vehicular assault. The defense had argued at trial that Klein unknowingly had obstructive sleep apnea, sometimes waking up as often as 30 times an hour while sleeping, and didn’t know how tired his body really was when he hit the boys that afternoon, according to court records.
The Brewsters allege in the civil lawsuit that no one from the school district greeted them when they arrived at the school after hearing reports of the accident on the radio, and that until they asked, no one told them whether their son was alive or dead. They also allege that no one from the school district, except Ritchie, reached out to them afterward, the records state. At the time of the accident Andy Brewster had a learning disability that was known by the school district. He and his parents argue that his disability was not taken into account when the students went on their walk and that the school district failed in its duty to provide reasonable care for Brewster, records state.
“As a direct consequence of Defendant Ferndale School District’s failure to follow its own safety procedures, statutory and common law, Michael “Andy” Brewster suffered severe, traumatic injuries, pain, suffering and permanent disability,” the records state.
In his response to the lawsuit, Klein denied that the accident was the result of him failing to pay attention, or that he drove his vehicle in an extremely unsafe and unreasonable manner, according to court records. Klein’s attorney argues in the response that the damages may have been the fault of a third party that Klein had no control over, or that “the injuries and damages sustained by (Brewster) may have been the sole and proximate result of an unavoidable accident.”
Klein’s attorney asked for a dismissal of the complaint.
The Ferndale School District had not responded to the lawsuit as of Friday.
Other lawsuits
The parents of the two boys who died as a result of the accident also filed civil wrongful death lawsuits.
Ormiston’s parents filed a civil wrongful death lawsuit Aug. 18, 2015 against Klein, seeking damages for medical and funeral expenses, general damages for Ormiston’s death, his pain and suffering before death and his future earnings if he had lived a normal life expectancy, according to court records.
The case was dismissed Jan. 12, 2017 after Klein and the Ormistons settled out of court for an undisclosed amount.
Anderson’s parents filed a civil wrongful death suit on Dec. 3, 2015 against Klein and the Ferndale School District. A 12-person jury trial is set for Feb. 20, 2019 in the case.
Anderson’s family is seeking similar damages to the Ormiston’s.
In a response to the Anderson complaint, the Ferndale School District admits that the walk Ritchie took the students on was unauthorized, there was no additional supervision, there was no parental consent and that district policies were violated, according to court records. The district denies that Anderson’s death was a result of the district failing to follow policy, and alleges the incident was solely caused by Klein’s negligence, according to papers filed in the lawsuit.
Klein’s defense is similar to the one he is using in the Brewster’s case.
Both Klein and the school district have argued for dismissals of the complaint.
This story was originally published August 1, 2018 at 5:00 AM.