Judge dismisses suit over 2003 accident that killed two Prosser teens

YAKIMA, Wash. -- A federal lawsuit over a 17-year-old girl's death in a Ford van rollover has been dismissed after a judge ruled that the Prosser School District did not violate the victim's civil rights by allowing her to ride in the vehicle, which has a troubled crash history.

The lawsuit, brought by the parents of Belen Campos, was dismissed Monday in U.S. District Court. Ford, the other defendant, already settled.

Campos and Prosser High School classmate Corinne Bardessono, 15, died Dec. 15, 2003, when the 15-passenger Ford van carrying them hit a patch of black ice and rolled on U.S. Highway 395 near Ritzville, Wash.

It was Campos' 17th birthday. She and her classmates were touring colleges as part of an Upward Bound program sponsored by Columbia Basin College.

A year after the wreck, the Bardessonos received a $1 million settlement from the state of Washington and agreed to dismiss wrongful death charges against the state, Columbia Basin College and the driver of the van, who was an employee of the college.

A co-defendant, Budget Car and Truck Rental in Pasco, also settled out of court with the Bardessonos, as did Ford. Terms were not disclosed.

The Bardessonos' efforts to sue the Prosser School District ended after a Spokane County jury couldn't reach a verdict.

Campos' family sued the Prosser district and Ford. Their attorney, J.J. Sandlin of Zillah, said they received a "reasonable settlement" from Ford.

Sandlin had argued in court filings that the district was negligent and violated Campos' civil right to life in allowing students to use vans that they knew or should have known were dangerous.

The negligence claim was dismissed earlier; the civil rights argument is more often used in government cases where, for example, police are accused of excessive force.

District attorney Jerry Moberg of Ephrata, who said the deaths were tragic, said school officials had maintained all along that they were not responsible for decisions made by the community college. Furthermore, they did not have a policy against students being transported in 15-passenger vans not owned by the district.

Sandlin said Tuesday that he had not had a chance to discuss with his clients whether they would appeal.

The lawsuit had alleged large Ford E-350 passenger vans have been involved in a disproportionate number of fatal rollovers since the 1970s. The E-350 has been the subject of several rollover safety warnings issued by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

Sandlin said the defendants had argued that the van in the Campos crash would have rolled regardless of the vehicle's crash history. The van went sideways, then toppled when it hit gravel on the shoulder, he said.

Ford maintains that equipment changes and statements that driver training is necessary have made traveling in the vans safer.

* This report includes information from Yakima Herald-Republic archives.