"This tragedy was preventable. Brandeis was warned about dangerous drivers, repeated safety complaints, and buses without seatbelts but they did nothing," Walter Kelley, a lawyer for several injured passengers, said in a statement last week. "Brandeis ignored all of the red flags and the result was catastrophic. That's not an accident, that's negligence -- and we are going to make sure they are held accountable."
In a statement, the university said last week that the collision on Nov. 19, 2022, was a "terrible tragedy for all those directly and indirectly affected in our community." Brandeis said it wouldn't comment further, citing the ongoing litigation. Rushton didn't respond to an email seeking comment.
The shuttle was returning to Brandeis's Waltham campus carrying 30 passengers when it crashed into a tree at about 10:31 p.m., killing Vanessa Mark, an undergraduate student who was returning from a visit to New York City with friends.
The bus was operated by Jean Michel Fenelon, a driver for Joseph's Transportation in Medford. The company had a contract with Brandeis to provide transportation services between campus and other destinations in Waltham as well as to and from Cambridge and Boston.
Federal investigators determined that Fenelon was speeding prior to the collision, driving 54 miles per hour in an area with a speed limit of 30 miles per hour.
The investigators also found that Fenelon, a Hyde Park resident, had worked too many hours. He had another job driving a school bus for Boston Public Schools, which he had allegedly concealed from supervisors at Joseph's Transportation.
A lawyer for Joseph's Transportation said the company wouldn't comment because of the litigation. In court papers, the company has said it "did not cause or contribute to the accident."
In 2023, prosecutors charged Fenelon, 59, with motor vehicle homicide by negligent operation, speeding, and a marked lanes violation. He had a stroke earlier this year and died June 17, court records show.
Civil lawyers for Fenelon declined to comment. Reached by the Globe, Fenelon's criminal defense lawyer said he would respond later, but didn't do so.
Spokespeople for Boston Public Schools and Transdev, the company Fenelon worked for, driving school buses for the district, didn't respond to requests for comment.
An independent probe of Transdev released last week found the company failed to track crashes and faulted BPS for lax oversight. The city ordered the investigation after a school bus struck and killed a kindergartner in Hyde Park in April.
The estate for Mark, the undergraduate student who died, and 15 other shuttle passengers have filed civil claims over the Brandeis crash, court records show.
During a deposition in Boston May 6, lawyers for Jose Lopez, 22, a Brandeis student and swim team member who was seriously injured, asked Rushton about his handling of complaints related to the shuttle service prior to the fatal collision.
The deposition referred to an Oct. 7, 2022, message a student sent to the Brandeis Department of Public Safety about a Joseph's Transportation operator, according to the transcript.
"I have not been feeling safe being a passenger in their bus," the student wrote. "Unless a change is made, I'm going to be stuck on the bus each day fearing for my life."
In the email, the student said the driver traveled over train tracks as lights flashed to signal an oncoming train. The student also accused the driver, who was not identified, of "consistently" going through red lights, honking at other drivers, and swerving around vehicles.
Rushton, Brandeis's police chief and assistant vice president of public safety, said during the deposition that he consulted video footage and didn't find evidence that the shuttle had driven through the railroad crossing as the lights signaled for an approaching train. He added that he couldn't interview the student who made the report because the complaint was submitted anonymously.
On Oct. 11, 2022, he forwarded the student's complaint to Joseph's Transportation, court records show.
In an email, a Joseph's Transportation representative asked Rushton if he wanted the company to speak with the driver, who was not identified, or remove him from the route.
"Those are some pretty serious safety concerns," wrote Justin Albano, the representative.
Rushton said during the deposition that he didn't remember whether he responded to Albano's offer, but had no memory of ever removing a driver or requesting such action.
Also on Oct. 11, 2022, Rushton informed Albano that a passenger had videotaped a bus door opening during a shuttle trip. He requested a meeting on Zoom.
"Had a number of complaints over the weekend," Rushton wrote in an email to Albano.
During Rushton's deposition, Judd Rosen, an attorney for Lopez, asked about GPS trackers Brandeis placed on the shuttle buses. The devices also documented vehicle speed, but the university primarily used the devices for location data, Rushton said.
Following the crash, a student emailed Rushton about the shuttle's speed before the collision, court records show. The student managed a club that operated a smartphone application about campus services, including the shuttles, and had access to the GPS location and speed data, according to his email, which was filed in court.
The student wrote that the tracker "has all data for this shuttle for that night, and we are happy to send that via email or show you how to access it."
Rushton said during his deposition that he knew that the devices tracked vehicle speeds, but wasn't aware they were capable of capturing the data with such precision until the student shared the report. He said he forwarded the speed data to Waltham police.
"I was disappointed that the driver would have been speeding," Rushton said, according to the deposition transcript.
Brandeis's lawyers have argued that the school and its employees are not liable for the crash because the shuttle bus was owned and operated by Joseph's Transportation.
The university has petitioned the court to enforce a contract provision that Joseph's Transportation indemnify Brandeis against any claims. The contract ended in 2023. At the time, Brandeis told the Globe that it had hired a different transportation service, which uses vehicles with seatbelts.
Brandeis and three of its public safety officers are also facing negligence claims over an unrelated death in 2023.
The family of a student who died after changing their mind about taking their own life and crying out for help sued last year, alleging the university and campus police did not properly respond for hours to a call from a passerby seeking assistance.
That case is pending in Middlesex Superior Court.