Family of Bus Accident Victim Reaches Settlement with Whole Foods

By Andrew Weatherford

Published on June 10, 2009

Whole Foods has reached a settlement with the family of a man who was killed in a 2005 bus accident in Wisconsin. Branden Atherton, a marching band assistant with the Chippewa Falls High School Band, was killed when the bus carrying the band crashed into an overturned Whole Foods truck driven by Michael Kozlowski.

Attorneys for the Atherton family argued that Kozlowski had been out drinking for most of the night before the accident. They claimed that he lost control of his semi truck and it tipped over because he was extremely fatigued.

Mr. Kozlowski's attorney attributed much of the blame to bus driver, claiming that he should have been able to see the overturned semi and avoid crashing into it. Although Kozlowski was acquitted, Whole Foods still agreed to pay money to the Atherton family to settle the civil lawsuit that had been filed over his death. Fifteen other civil lawsuits were filed by victims and their families after the accident, but none have reached a jury trial. Four other people were killed in the accident, including the bus driver, the band director, and his wife and granddaughter.

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