The parents of a University of Connecticut student killed by a campus shuttle bus in 2011 have reached a $5.5 million settlement of their negligence lawsuit against the university and the state.
A lawyer for George and Linda Plamondon, of Westminster, Massachusetts, said the settlement was finalized last week.
Their 20-year-old son, David Plamondon, was walking in a crosswalk on the Storrs campus when he was struck by a university shuttle bus on March 22, 2011.
He was a junior studying physiology and neurobiology.
The bus driver, fellow UConn student Lukasz Gilewski, of Newington, pleaded no contest to negligent homicide and was sentenced to two years of probation earlier this year.
Police said Gilewski was driving under the speed limit, but waved to another bus driver shortly before the accident.
“David Plamondon’s death was tragic and heartbreaking for his family, friends and the entire UConn community,” said UConn spokesperson Stephanie Reitz, in a statement. “The University continues to grieve over the loss of such a talented and promising young man. We hope his loved ones receive some measure of comfort in knowing how widely he was admired at UConn and how greatly he is missed.”
Reitz said that all UConn bus drivers undergo the same licensing and traning requirements as school bus, coach bus and tractor-trailer drivers around the state.
She said UConn's studnet drivers "go through an ongoing process of evaluation and supervision throughout their time on the job."
According to Reitz, about 65 of UConn's 80 drivers are students.
Following Plamondon's death, the university implemented a "Safe Turn Alert" system, which provides audible warnings to drivers and pedestrians when a bus is about to turn.
It was introduced in the spring of 2011, and "was not yet available for installation on UConn buses at the time of David Plamondon's death," according to Reitz.
