Victim's Family Blames Driver, Company in California Wrongful Death Suit Against Greyhound

By Jim Greene

Published on February 24, 2006

Martha Contreras, who was seven months pregnant at the time, died in the crash Nov. 27 near Santa Maria, about 170 miles northwest of Los Angeles, when the Greyhound bus driven by 63-year-old Samuel Bishop swerved off Highway 101, tipped on its side, and hit a tree.

The amended complaint filed last week in Santa Maria Superior Court on behalf of the victim's husband, Augustin Contreras, and the victim's parents, Crescencio and Dolores Huitron, accuses Bishop of breaking the law by driving tired and exceeding speed limits, and Greyhound of encouraging drivers to work when tired.

Plaintiffs' attorney Esteban Valenzuela said Bishop had no business driving the bus, and that Greyhound had no business hiring him, alleging that the driver has a record of criminal convictions in Fresno County. Clerks in Fresno County Superior Court said they found only two dismissed traffic citations against Bishop, and a California Highway Patrol spokesperson said Bishop's record would not prevent him from qualifying to operate a passenger bus.

The suit claims wrongful death and negligence in the deaths of Martha Contreras and her unborn child, and personal injury to Augustin Contreras, one of 43 passengers injured in the crash.

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