The surviving children of a man killed when his motorcycle collided with a DeKalb County school bus in 2017 is suing the district and the bus driver for negligence, wrongful death and other charges.
Sedrick O’Neal Smith, 40, was driving on Flakes Mill Road south of I-285 on Nov. 17, 2017, when he was struck by a school bus driven by Robert Graddick. Smith later died at the Atlanta Medical Center.
According to the lawsuit, filed May 28, there were 22 Salem Middle School students on the bus and the driver was negligent when he made an illegal left turn and struck the motorcycle.
However, in the DeKalb County School District accident report, “It is stated in the police report that (Smith) was speeding (on) Flakes Mill Road weaving in and out of traffic when he collided with (the school bus).”
There was no detail of any student injuries in the wreck.
The lawsuit, on behalf of Smith’s surviving children Marquasia Green and Keiven Muse, seeks damages for lost support as well as funeral and medical costs related to the accident. The family also is seeking costs for the damage to the motorcycle and legal expenses.
“At the time of his untimely death,” the filing states, “Smith was survived by two teen-aged children whom he was raising and whom he loved very much, one — a female whom he will never be able to give away in marriage and the other, a male whose marriage he will never be able to witness.”
Graddick, 64, has been with the district nearly 13 years. He is still listed as an active employee.
DeKalb County School District officials typically do not comment on pending litigation. Attorney Isaac Babalola, who is representing Smith’s children, declined to answer questions about the lawsuit by phone.
Smith was the only fatality during 2017 in accidents involving DeKalb County School District buses, according to data from the school district. But districts have come under fire in recent years for failing to report every school bus accident to the Georgia Department of Education. There are gaps in the records and evidence that some district officials don't enforce their own data collection policies.
That can put children at risk. More than 4,000 bus drivers — ranging in age from 18 to late 80s — hit the roads daily in metro Atlanta to deliver about 300,000 students to and from school. School buses are involved in more than 100 accidents a month in metro Atlanta —nearly four per day — according to data available from 2018.
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