Vancouver schools to pay $325,000 in 2014 bus crash case

Vancouver Public Schools agreed last month to a $325,000 settlement with a teenager struck by a district bus in 2014, a district spokeswoman said Monday.

Kelcie Huntley was crossing the street at East McLoughlin and Grand boulevards on Oct. 20, 2014, when she was hit by a school bus on her way to Hudson’s Bay High School. She suffered a broken nose and cheek, as well as a fractured pelvis, and had back surgery for her injuries, according to court records.

In March 2017, she and her mother, Alyxandria Bates sued the district. They accused the bus driver, Virginia Sharpe, of negligence. Sharpe, who law enforcement said at the time had an “excellent” driving record, was put on administrative leave after the incident.

Sharpe still works for Vancouver Public Schools, district spokeswoman Pat Nuzzo said by email.

Huntley and Bates asked the district to pay Huntley’s medical bills, medication, gas for driving to medical appointments and for “mental anguish and emotional distress.” The suit also asked the district to pay for “negligent infliction of emotional distress” for Bates.

Huntley’s attorneys did not return a request for comment for this story. The district held a mediation session on June 12 and came to the settlement agreement, Nuzzo said.

The district said the settlement, which will be paid by insurance company Clear Risk Solutions, is not an “admission of liability or fault.”