Metro must pay victims of beating on bus

King County Metro was negligent when a bus driver took no action while two teenage riders were attacked and beaten aboard a bus by a group of youths, a jury ruled Thursday.

The Superior Court jury voted to award plaintiffs Carmen Rollins and Will Hendershott $125,000 each in damages in a 10-2 verdict in the civil case brought against the transit company.

After the verdict was read, Rollins, now 20, sobbed in the arms of her father. "I really do hope this helps promote bus safety," she said.

Throughout the trial, which began last week, attorneys for King County argued that the driver behind the wheel of the Rainier Valley-bound No. 7 did not see the assaults on the articulated bus on May 22, 2005.

"Because you're a victim of a crime doesn't mean you're necessarily entitled to financial compensation," said Dan Kinerk, an attorney for King County. He declined to comment after the verdict.

The trial strikes at an issue that concerns bus riders: With Metro ridership at a 30-year high, more riders have recently found themselves in threatening situations, transit-agency statistics show.

Lawyers for Rollins and Hendershott, 19, argued that the driver was partly to blame because he did not call his dispatcher for backup or advice when he saw the rowdy group trying to board, and failed to radio for police help once the beatings began.

Rollins and Hendershott, who were both 17 and dating at the time, climbed aboard the bus just after midnight with another friend. Rollins, who had just gotten off work at a movie theater, noticed a raucous group waiting as the bus approached the Rainier Avenue-Alaska Street stop.

The driver stopped and the group — described by the plaintiffs as about 30 male and female youths shouting profanities and exchanging punches — boarded.

According to testimony, one of the men moved next to Rollins and caressed her leg, then others — including one who said he had a gun — began calling the couple names.

Just before the bus made its next stop at South Graham Street, Rollins testified, the group "jumped" her and her boyfriend, threatening to rape her, and punched both of them in the face. When the bus stopped, the group pulled the couple out through the rear door. The beatings continued just outside the bus until the couple's friend, who was not attacked, called 911 from a cellphone.

When police arrived, the bus had already left the stop. The assailants also were gone. No one was ever arrested.

"He's got an emergency alarm, he's got mirrors, he's got a PA system. He's got tools," plaintiff attorney Ken Friedman said of the bus driver, who was not named in the suit, during his closing argument Wednesday. Yet "three of the young passengers were left to fend for themselves."

"The driver's job ... is to be the eyes and the ears of Metro," said Andrew Schwartz, who also represented the plaintiffs. "Why didn't [his] instincts say, 'Uh-oh'?"

After they were assaulted, Rollins and Hendershott were treated for bruises and cuts at Harborview Medical Center and released. But the emotional toll continued long after, they say. Both suffered from increased stress, hypervigilance, fear of strangers in certain public situations and flashbacks.

On Thursday the jury, which is not required to be unanimous in a civil case, also awarded Rollins about $13,500 and Hendershott $2,000 for past and future economic damages.

Rollins' father, Michael Rollins, said one difficult aspect of the ordeal was that the family supports public transportation.

"We believe in having a public-transit system," he said. "But the safety plan has to be in place, and we have come to find out that's not always the case with Metro."

Natalie Singer: 206-464-2704 or nsinger@seattletimes.com