Lawsuit in fatal accident targets School District

Friday, Nov. 28, 2003 | 10:59 a.m.

A lawsuit filed earlier this week alleges the Clark County School District bears some responsibility for a lunchtime fatal car wreck that left two students dead and three injured.

The suit claims the district is reponsible because Las Vegas High School officials issued the unlicensed driver a campus parking permit.

Filed on behalf of survivor Ashley Biersach -- whose pelvis and back were crushed in the May 9, 2002, wreck and later had the lower part of her right leg amputated -- the suit names both the district and David Troester, whose 16-year-old daughter was behind the wheel of the 1987 Ford Thunderbird he purchased for her.

Ashley Troester, who was not licensed, died of her injuries three days later at University Medical Center. Natasha Keeter, 17, died at the scene.

The suit raises questions about where the line should be drawn between the responsibilities of a school and those of parents.

Robert Correales, assistant professor at Boyd School of Law at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, said Biersach's attorney will have a tough time making his case against the School District.

"In negligence cases, you begin by identifying whether a duty exists, then if the duty has been breached and finally whether that breach has caused harm," Correales said. "Proving the district has a duty to ensure all its students are safe drivers will be very difficult."

Robert Murdock, the attorney representing Biersach, said because the school gave Troester a parking permit, school officials should have also checked to make sure she had a driver's license. While some district high schools have followed that procedure for years, Las Vegas High only began demanding the extra requirements this fall.

School officials declined to comment on the policy change.

Bill Hoffman, senior counsel for the district, said the decision to require students to provide licenses or proof of insurance in exchange for parking permits is left up to the individual schools. Doing so -- or not -- does not open the district up to liability concerns, Hoffman said.

"I don't think there's any connection between issuing a parking pass and a subsequent traffic accident," Hoffman said Wednesday. "For the most part, parents are the ones who give cars to their children and they are licensed by the state to drive. The fact that the district gives a parking pass is not going to be a contributing factor to an accident.

"What happened is tragic, and we're very sorry for everyone involved, but I don't believe the district is liable."

But Murdock disagreed, saying if the district had done a better job checking licenses, Troester would not have had the opportunity to load up her car with friends for the lunch-hour trip to Burger King. Troester was speeding back to campus when she lost control on a curve and struck the light pole, less than two miles from school.

In addition to Troester, Keeter and Biersach, passengers Kiley Quinn and Aleisa Valdez, both 15 at the time, were also injured.

"It doesn't make any sense," Murdock said. "If you give somebody a parking permit, you ought to know if they have a license and insurance. Unfortunately for my client it's too little too late."

Requiring students to provide copies of their driver's licenses and insurance may be "prudent policy," but it has no bearing on liability, Correales said. An attorney would have to prove the district has some advance knowledge that a driver was a potential danger, such as prior record or accidents, Correales said.

The greater burden falls to the parents in this type of lawsuit, Correales said.

"In general, it is the parents who are in the best position to know whether their child is potential danger, not the schools," Correales said. "If (Troester's) father gave her a car knowing she did not have a license or that she was an unsafe driver, that could be the lynch-pin in the case."

Leo Flangas, the attorney representing Troester, said Wednesday that his client bought the car for his daughter in anticipation of her receiving her license later. She took the vehicle without his permission that May morning, Flangas said.

Flangas declined to speculate on whether the school requiring Troester to show proof of a license and insurance might have deterred her from driving.

At some high schools in Clark County -- including Shadow Ridge, Cimarron-Memorial and Centennial -- students applying for campus parking permits must bring in a copy of their driver's license, registration, proof of insurance and a signed letter from their parents giving permission for them to drive.

"It's about campus security," said Sandy Satterfield, assistant principal at the new Shadow Ridge, which opened in August. "All high schools are now closed campuses, so if we see a car leaving during the day and coming back, we need to know who it is."

The closed campus rule, which bars students from leaving during the school day, was already in effect at about half of the district's campuses prior to the Las Vegas High wreck. Just days afterward district officials closed the remaining urban campuses to daytime student traffic.

School District police have also conducted occasional spot-checks, stopping cars coming in and out of high schools to make sure drivers are carrying the state-mandated documentation -- a valid license, registration and proof on insurance. At Palo Verde High School last year, campus cops stopped 80 cars and found every student had a valid license with them. Several parents did not.

Closed campuses and requiring proof of licenses and insurance are not guarantees against tragedy. At Centennial High School, students have been required to bring in copies of their driver's licenses, insurance and registration since the campus opened five years ago.

On Aug. 30, 2002, Ryan Sneed, a junior at Centennial, ran a stop sign in his Jeep Cherokee while ferrying his sister and three of her friends home from school. Sneed, who had been issued his driver's license nine days earlier, was killed.