Attorneys Ben Salango and Patrick Salango filed nine law suits in Calhoun Circuit Court, Case numbers 25C5 through 25C13, on behalf of the parents of nine juvenile accident victims from the March 4th, 2024 accident involving discharged bus driver Jeffrey Brannon. Nineteen Students were on the bus at the time of the accident. Brannon plead guilty before Judge Anita Harold Ashley on April 9th, 2025 in Case 24-F-20, to three (3) counts of DUI with serious bodily injury, and sixteen (16) counts of Child Neglect causing Serious Bodily Injury. Sentencing is scheduled for June 12th, 2025 where he faces imprisonment of 22 to 120 years in jail as well as multiple fines and court costs.
Victims stated the following (not an exhaustive list) for collective and individual injuries:
- Pain and right elbow fracture and surgery
- Withdrawal from Baseball/Football/Weightlifting
- Fear of Riding on a School Bus
- Personal Transportation to School and afterschool activities
- Pain in foot, neck, chest, and head
- Concussion
- Broken Foot
- Chest Trauma due to bruising
- Glass shards/cuts on wrist, hands, and hip as well as wrist, hip and buttock pain.
- Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome
- (PFPS) requiring physical therapy and pain medication/management.
- Physical therapy and requirement to wear a knee brace
- Shoulder pain and a headache
- Additional visits to the emergency room at Roane General Hospital with complaints of a severe headache.
- Concussion
- Unable to attend Band practice and missed the Honor Band Banquet
- Complaints of pain in ribcage and headaches
- Concussion and a soft tissue injury to ribcage
- Shoulder pain and a knot on head.
- An enlarged spleen.
- Multiple scratches and bruising
- Injuries are severe and some permanent in nature requiring past, present and future medical appointments.
The complaint is filed against not only Jeffrey Brannon, but Calhoun County Schools as well.
The complaint stated that upon investigation, Defendant Brannon’s preliminary blood alcohol test performed by the West Virginia State Police showed a blood alcohol level of .161%, double the legal limit. At all times relevant, Defendant Brannon was an employee and/or agent of the Calhoun County Board of Education as a school bus driver. As such, the School Board is considered vicariously liable for Brannon’s actions of having operated the school bus in a negligent and reckless manner causing the school bus to crash and injuring those for whom the complaint is filed.
Charges filed in the complaint:
- COUNT I: NEGLIGENT AND RECKLESS MISCONDUCT
- COUNT II: VIOLATION OF STATUTE
The Attorneys are seeking, on behalf of the plaintiffs in this case, compensatory damages in an amount to be determined by a jury, together with taxable court costs and interest, demanding a trial by jury.
