{"id":71448,"date":"2026-11-04T06:05:12","date_gmt":"2026-11-04T12:05:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/?p=71448"},"modified":"2026-11-04T06:05:12","modified_gmt":"2026-11-04T12:05:12","slug":"leonard-bus-crash-lawsuit-district-denies-negligence","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/leonard-bus-crash-lawsuit-district-denies-negligence\/","title":{"rendered":"Leonard Bus Crash Lawsuit: District Denies Negligence"},"content":{"rendered":"

LEONARD, NORTH DAKOTA<\/strong> (trfnews.i234.me<\/a>) \u2014 A North Dakota school district is fighting a lawsuit over a school bus crash that injured two children.<\/p>\n

The Enderlin Area School District denies negligence in the September 2022 crash near Leonard.<\/p>\n

The bus left the roadway and plunged into the Maple River with students aboard.<\/p>\n

Parents Tyler and Ashley Hieb filed the lawsuit on behalf of their children, Landyn and LilyJo Hieb.<\/p>\n

The family alleges the district failed to address concerns about the driver’s medical fitness.<\/p>\n

The district denies wrongdoing and wants the case dismissed.<\/p>\n

School Bus Crashed Into Maple River<\/h2>\n

The crash happened September 23, 2022, along 50th Street Southeast near Leonard in Cass County.<\/p>\n

According to the lawsuit, the driver lost consciousness while traveling eastbound.<\/p>\n

The bus left the road, crossed an embankment, and entered the Maple River.<\/p>\n

Seven students and the driver were aboard, according to reports released after the crash.<\/p>\n

Three students were transported to hospitals, including one by medical helicopter.<\/p>\n

Authorities reported no life-threatening injuries at the time.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/a>
A North Dakota school district is fighting a lawsuit over a school bus crash that injured two children.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Parents Claim District Ignored Medical Risks<\/h2>\n

The Hieb family claims the school district knew, or should have known, about the driver’s medical limitations.<\/p>\n

According to the complaint, those conditions could have affected his ability to transport children safely.<\/p>\n

The lawsuit alleges the district negligently retained the driver despite those risks.<\/p>\n

The parents also seek to hold the district responsible for the driver’s alleged negligence while working.<\/p>\n

However, the district denies failing to exercise reasonable care.<\/p>\n

It acknowledges the driver was acting within the scope of his employment.<\/p>\n

The district also acknowledges, based on its understanding, that the driver lost consciousness before the crash.<\/p>\n

Children Reportedly Suffered Serious Injuries<\/h2>\n

The lawsuit describes physical and emotional injuries involving both children.<\/p>\n

According to the complaint, Landyn Hieb suffered a broken leg requiring surgery and implanted hardware.<\/p>\n

The family alleges Landyn experienced pain and emotional distress, with some effects potentially lasting into the future.<\/p>\n

LilyJo Hieb reportedly suffered cuts, scrapes, and bruising.<\/p>\n

The complaint also alleges LilyJo developed severe post-traumatic stress disorder following the crash.<\/p>\n

Her parents say she was receiving treatment when the lawsuit was filed.<\/p>\n

The district says it lacks enough information to confirm or deny the claimed injuries.<\/p>\n

District Blames Sudden Medical Emergency<\/h2>\n

The school district argues an unexpected medical emergency caused the accident.<\/p>\n

Its court response describes the event as a sudden medical emergency outside the district’s control.<\/p>\n

The district maintains that neither it nor the driver was legally negligent.<\/p>\n

Its defense also raises possible legal immunity and other factors affecting responsibility.<\/p>\n

These arguments remain disputed claims, not findings by a judge or jury.<\/p>\n

Family Seeks More Than $50,000<\/h2>\n

The parents seek more than $50,000 in noneconomic damages, including compensation for pain and emotional suffering.<\/p>\n

They also request compensation for medical expenses, future losses, legal costs, and other damages.<\/p>\n

The family has requested a jury trial.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, the school district wants the lawsuit dismissed with prejudice.<\/p>\n

It is also seeking legal costs and has requested a nine-person jury if the case proceeds.<\/p>\n

No determination of liability is established by the allegations or the district’s response.<\/p>\n

More Information<\/h2>\n

Read the November 2026 reporting on the lawsuit<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Additional background is available in the original September 2022 crash report<\/a>.<\/p>\n

I’m Adrian Cole reporting for TRF News<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Parents sue Enderlin Area School District over a 2022 school bus crash near Leonard, North Dakota. The district denies negligence and seeks dismissal.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":71669,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_wpscp_schedule_draft_date":"","_wpscp_schedule_republish_date":"","_wpscppro_advance_schedule":false,"_wpscppro_advance_schedule_date":"","_wpscppro_dont_share_socialmedia":false,"_wpscppro_custom_social_share_image":0,"_facebook_share_type":"","_twitter_share_type":"","_linkedin_share_type":"","_pinterest_share_type":"","_linkedin_share_type_page":"","_instagram_share_type":"","_medium_share_type":"","_threads_share_type":"","_bluesky_share_type":"","_mastodon_share_type":"","_google_business_share_type":"","_selected_social_profile":[],"_wpsp_enable_custom_social_template":false,"_wpsp_social_scheduling":{"enabled":false,"datetime":null,"platforms":[],"status":"template_only","dateOption":"","timeOption":"","customDays":"","customHours":"","customDate":"","customTime":"","schedulingType":""},"_wpsp_active_default_template":true},"categories":[12],"tags":[30982,756,7661],"trf_mt_town":[],"trf_mt_county":[],"trf_mt_topic":[29494,29493],"trf_mt_series":[],"class_list":["post-71448","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-crime","tag-ashley-hieb","tag-cass-county","tag-traffic-crash"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/71448","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=71448"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/71448\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":71671,"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/71448\/revisions\/71671"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/71669"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=71448"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=71448"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=71448"},{"taxonomy":"trf_mt_town","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/trf_mt_town?post=71448"},{"taxonomy":"trf_mt_county","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/trf_mt_county?post=71448"},{"taxonomy":"trf_mt_topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/trf_mt_topic?post=71448"},{"taxonomy":"trf_mt_series","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/trf_mt_series?post=71448"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}