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Last updated on Friday, June 23, 2017
(WASHINGTON) - A special judge has been appointed to hear a lawsuit filed in a van crash that killed workers of Haitian descent from Washington in 2015.
Vanderburgh County judge David Kiely will oversee the lawsuit that's one of several pending in the Gibson County crash.
Authorities said the16-passenger van was loaded with 24 people when it blew a tire and overturned on Interstate 69 in Gibson County on September 24, 2015.
The overcrowded bus with bad tires and wooden benches for seats was traveling from Washington to Evansville transporting mainly passengers of Haitian descent to a factory to work.
Two women, 29-year-old Christela Georges and 60-year-old Gena Moise, died from their injuries, 20 other passengers were injured.
The lawsuit was filed on behalf of 12 of the passengers, including the Moise's family. It names several defendants, including the van's owner, his son, and the business where the workers were headed.
The driver of the van, James Allen, of Washington, was sentenced last year after pleading guilty to operating while intoxicated causing death. He pleaded guilty to nine felonies and one misdemeanor. Police say he was driving while under the influence of marijuana.
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