McDowell student’s wrongful death lawsuit settled for $1.7 million
Alyssa L. Hall, a 16-year-old student, was hit by a car in December 2022 as she crossed Zuck Road to board the school bus. Her mother sued the bus company, First Student, and the driver of the car, both of whom denied any wrongdoing.
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- The death of McDowell High School student Alyssa L. Hall in December 2022 prompted the Millcreek School District to investigate bus routes, including the spot where she suffered fatal injuries
- Hall’s death also led to a lawsuit against the bus company First Student and the driver of the car, who was not charged in the case
- The Millcreek School District was not sued in the first case, but First Student sued it, and the district contributed $50,000 to the total settlement of $1,690,000.
A $1.7 million settlement has ended a legal battle over the death of a 16-year-old 11th-grader at McDowell High School who was fatally injured when she was struck by a car as she crossed Zuck Road in Millcreek Township to board a school bus.
Student Allysa L. Hall died two days after the accident, which occurred on December 12, 2022.
Hall’s mother filed the wrongful death lawsuit nearly a year ago, centering on allegations against First Student, the Cincinnati-based bus company that provides transportation for students in the Millcreek Township school district.
The lawsuit alleged that the bus stop First Student designated for Hall was “inherently dangerous” because she had to access the bus via Zuck Road instead of picking it up across the street closer to her home. The lawsuit alleged that the establishment of the “poorly planned” and “unsafe route” was “economically motivated.”
“There were safer alternative routes that would have prevented Hall from being in danger,” the petition to settle the case states.
First Student denied the claims and admitted no liability as part of the settlement.
The settlement totals $1,690,000, according to the settlement application and other documents filed in Erie County Common Pleas Court. The documents, which were unsealed, were entered into the registry after Erie County Chief Judge Joseph M. Walsh III approved the settlement at a hearing Tuesday.
The focus of the lawsuit is the “prudence or lack thereof” in designing the bus route, which included Hall’s stop, said one of Hall’s mother’s lawyers, William Kelly, at the hearing.
The bulk of the settlement – $1,575,000 – came from First Student, according to court documents. Most of the remaining money came from insurance payments for the driver of the car that struck Hall.
The settlement proceeds will go to the plaintiff in the case, Hall’s mother, Jennifer M. Zeppieri, who is managing her daughter’s estate. Zeppieri sued First Student and the driver of the car on July 31. A trial was scheduled for September.
Like First Student, the driver denied the claims and admitted no liability as part of the settlement, the settlement agreement states.
Millcreek School District contributes $50,000 to the settlement
Zeppieri did not sue the Millcreek School District, although it was included in the case.
First Student sued the school district in April, claiming that First Student alerted the district before the fatal crash that Hall would have to cross busy Zuck Road to get to her bus, court records show. First Student also claimed the school district was contractually obligated to indemnify First Student from the claims in Zeppieri’s lawsuit.
The case never got to the point where the school district answered First Student’s claims in court, but the district also admitted no liability as part of the settlement. The school district shared in the payout.
The Millcreek School Board approved a $50,000 payment, including insurance, to help cover the total damages at a special meeting June 27, district records show. The vote was unanimous and without discussion.
Court documents show that the $50,000 went to First Student to fund its portion of the settlement. In return, First Student released the school district from the bus company’s liability claims.
Death of a student led to changes on bus routes
The Millcreek School District took action following Hall’s death.
Then-district superintendent Ian Roberts said the day after Hall’s death that the district was reviewing a number of bus stops to reroute buses, if possible, to pick up students on the side of the street where they live. Hall’s stop was part of the changes.
“Most of these stops have been in place for years, and while we will not be able to pick up 100% of our students on the side of the street where they live, we are prioritizing several known high-traffic streets to implement these changes as quickly as possible,” Roberts said.
“Our condolences go out to the McDowell High School family and the family of our beloved student during this difficult time,” Roberts also said in a press release after Hall’s death. He said she also attended classes at Erie County Technical School.
“The McDowell family shared some heartwarming memories, including that Alyssa always had a bright smile and a cheerful disposition,” Roberts said. “Not only was she a pleasant person, but she excelled in cosmetology at ECTS and in her studies at McDowell. Alyssa will be greatly missed.”
No charges were brought against the driver in the accident
The accident that killed Hall occurred around 7 a.m. on Dec. 12, 2022, when the sky was still dark and the sun had not yet risen, according to the complaint. Hall was struck in the 5000 block of Zuck Road between West Grandview Boulevard and Zimmerly Road. According to the complaint, she lived in the mobile home park in the 5000 block of Zuck Road on the west side of the road.
Hall was the only student on the bus route who lived on the west side of Zuck Road and had to cross the street to catch the bus at the bus stop on the east side of the road, Zeppieri’s lawsuit says. The other students lived on the east side of the road, the lawsuit says.
The First Student bus, Bus 61, was traveling north when it stopped to pick up Hall and the other students, the lawsuit says. A northbound Buick LeSabre struck Hall as she crossed Zuck Road, police said. Hall was taken to UPMC Hamot and then flown to Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh, where she died on Dec. 14, 2022.
No charges have been filed against the driver of the car that struck Hall. The Erie County District Attorney’s Office said the driver, a 62-year-old woman from Millcreek, was not impaired, was driving just under the 45 mph speed limit and committed no traffic violations.
Hall was wearing dark clothing, according to the complaint, and prosecutors reported that the driver said she did not see Hall as she crossed the street. The driver remained at the scene of the accident, prosecutors said.
The Erie Times-News is not naming the driver because she has not been charged with a crime. Her attorney, Christopher Sinnott, declined to comment, as did the other defense attorneys in the case who also attended Tuesday’s settlement hearing: Patrick Carey for First Student and Neal Devlin for the Millcreek School District.
Kelly, one of Zeppieri’s attorneys, also declined to comment beyond what he said at the hearing. Kelly represented Zeppieri along with his attorney Grant Travis.
The settlement agreement states that the attorneys and others involved in the case “will not make any public comments on matters relevant to this action.”
Lawyer praises the perseverance and patience of a student’s mother
Although the settlement totals $1,690,000, Zeppieri’s share is about $1 million, according to court documents. The reduction is due to payments to her attorneys, who worked on a contingency basis, as well as payments for other costs.
Zeppieri plans to use some of the proceeds to buy a “suitable home” for herself and her other daughter, with whom she lives, Kelly told the court. He said Zeppieri had also set up a pension to cover daily living expenses.
Kelly praised Zeppieri’s patience and willingness to learn about the legal process during the ordeal that ended with the settlement.
“Jennifer was like a sponge in this case,” Kelly said in court.
Contact Ed Palattella at [email protected] or 814-870-1813. Follow him on X @ETNpalatella.
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