Parents Of Brandeis Student Who Died In Bus Crash File Lawsuit

WALTHAM, MA — The parents of Vanessa Mark, the Brandeis University student who was killed in a November 2022 bus crash, have filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the transportation company and bus driver.

Mark and multiple other students were traveling back to campus from a hockey game at Northeastern when the shuttle bus they were on crashed into a tree on South Street.

The crash killed Mark and injured 26 other students. Students and the driver, who also suffered injuries, needed to be taken to area hospitals following the crash.

“The bus was totally destroyed, all the windows on the side were ripped open, and the front end was just totally smashed in,” Brian Belliveau, who lives near the site of the crash, told The Boston Globe at the time.

The lawsuit names Medford-based Joseph's Transportation and also the bus driver who was employed by the company in the Suffolk Superior Court filing.

It states that the driver was speeding at the time of the crash, and accuses the company of violating work hour protocol, stating that the driver worked more hours than is allowed at one time.

No criminal charges have been filed in relation to the crash.

Mark's death stunned the Brandeis community. Classes were canceled in the days after the crash, and university officials opened the university's counseling center for students dealing with grief.

Mark was currently on leave from classes at Brandeis, but remained a fixture on campus, President Ron Liebowitz said at the time.

"While Vanessa was currently on leave, she was living in Waltham and was an active and cherished member of the Brandeis community," he said.