Family of Hyde Park boy hit and killed by school bus files lawsuit

BOSTON — The family of a five-year-old boy from Hyde Park who was hit and killed by a school bus that had just dropped him off from school on April 28 is suing the bus company and the driver, claiming they were acting negligently at the time of the crash.

Lens Joseph, a kindergartner at UP Academy Dorchester, was hit and killed when he ran in front of the bus crossing the street to his home on April 28.

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The complaint alleges that the bus driver, Jean Charles, hit two parked cars around 2:30 p.m. and drove away from the scene, missing the turn to drive down the street to Joseph’s home.

Because of the missed turn, Joseph had to cross in front of the bus, the lawsuit claims.

Charles had an expired school bus certification at the time of the crash. He was hired by Transdev in May 2023.

The bus driver has not been criminally charged in the crash.

Boston Public Schools contracts its drivers through a company called “Transdev”, which hires and oversees the licensing and training for drivers.

The lawsuit claims Transdev mishandled the training and supervising of their drivers, including Charles and had a lack of safety equipment on their buses.

that Transdev also acted negligently by “failing to implement technologies including but not limited to stop-arm cameras, extended stop arms, crossing arms, surround cameras, pedestrian detection sensors, and automatic braking that affects the safety of children being driven by Transdev employees.”

The lawsuit claims that Joseph‘s 11-year-old cousin witnessed the deadly collision and has since dealt with “severe emotional distress” including anxiety, depression, sadness, fear, sleep disturbances and behavioral abnormalities.

“This was a heartbreaking incident that no family should have to endure. The district’s outside investigation is ongoing to review the safety policies and performance under the contract. We await the findings from this investigation to make needed changes so this never happens again,” a spokesperson for the city of Boston said in a statement to Boston 25.

Boston 25 News has reached out to Boston Public Schools, and Transdev for comment.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.

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