Suit Contends Bus Driver Stood Guard During Fatal Beating of FAMU Band Member
A lawsuit filed on behalf of family members of Robert Champion on Monday contends the Florida A&M college student was beaten to death while a bus driver stood guard.
The suit claims the bus company, Fabulous Coach Lines, told drivers to ignore band hazing, report CNN, the Associated Press and the Orlando Sentinel. Lawyer Christopher Chestnut elaborated in a news conference after filing the suit in Orange circuit court. “This was a culture embraced by this bus company,” he said.
Chestnut also intends to sue FAMU, CNN says. Sovereign immunity protections require the family to file a statutory notice and to wait six months before filing suit against the school.
The hazing took place after an Orlando football game on Nov. 19. The suit claims Champion, a drum major, was forced to participate in two kinds of hazing. In one, the hazing victim is forced to move from the front to the back of the bus while others kick and hit him. In the other, the victim must answer questions with a pillow case over his nose, and is allowed to breathe only when he gets the right answers. A wrong answer brings kicks and punches.
Champion left the bus to vomit and was forced to reboard by the driver, the suit alleges. The bus company president, Ray Land, has previously said the driver was unaware of the hazing and his employees responded quickly after learning of the medical emergency.
