MILWAUKEE — A new lawsuit claims a man who was hit and killed by a Milwaukee County Transit bus was in the crosswalk at the time.
53-year-old Angel Castillo-Rivera was killed near 35th and Wisconsin in February 2018. The bus driver was put on leave and an internal investigation began. Brendan Conway, the MCTS spokesperson at the time, told TODAY'S TMJ4, "At this point, there's no indication that he did something wrong."
But a new lawsuit claims the driver was negligent since Castillo-Rivera had the right of way to cross the street. A surveillance video shared by the Castillo-Rivera family attorney shows the bus was heading west on Wisconsin Avenue before it stopped at a red light on the east side of 35th Street.
"He proceeded to cross 35th Street legally in the intersection as any other pedestrian would," said attorney Benjamin Rodriguez.
The lawsuit alleges Castillo-Rivera had the walk signal to cross 35th, but the video shows when the light turned green, the bus turned right and hit him.
Rodriguez said Castillo-Rivera was headed home to his family after work when he was killed, and he leaves behind a wife and two kids. Rodriguez said this was the bus's last stop, and Castillo-Rivera was the only occupant at the time.
"Very hardworking man," Rodriguez said. "Worked ten to twelve hours a day and relied on the city buses as his primary method of transportation."
The lawsuit alleges before the crash, the bus driver, "moments before was looking at his cell phone, put his phone in his pocket and negligently proceeded to make a right hand turn onto 35th Street to travel north without yielding to Angel Castillo-Rivera, deceased, striking and running him over."
"A big part of this is making sure that our county bus system is safe for everyone to travel on," Rodriguez said.
MCTS said it does not comment on ongoing litigation, and it did not comment on the driver's employment status.
