SALT LAKE CITY — Utah's Department of Transportation has settled a lawsuit filed over a deadly tour bus crash near Bryce Canyon National Park.
The 2019 crash killed four Chinese tourists and injured dozens of others. This week, a motion was filed in Salt Lake City's 3rd District Court where the lawsuit was dismissed and a settlement was disclosed. The families of Caiyu Zhang, Ling Geng, Zhonglian Qiu — who all died in the crash — sued. So did Liang Xu and Liangxiew Wang, who were in injured.
The lawsuit alleged UDOT had construction crews resurfacing State Road 12 near Bryce Canyon. The project was finished a day before the crash. The lawsuit claims there was no rumble strip to warn a driver they were veering too far off the roadway and that an unpaved shoulder left little room for error. The bus drifted, the lawsuit alleged, and the driver overcorrected and it crashed.
UDOT confirmed to FOX 13 News on Thursday it settled the litigation for $1.45 million. The agency declined to comment on the settlement except to say it hopes the resolution of the case brings some closure to the families of the crash victims.
"They are still grappling with the loss, honestly. This happened four or five years ago and dealing with the loss has been difficult for all of them," said Nathan Morris, an attorney who represented the bus crash victims in the lawsuit. "They are excited to hopefully put this chapter behind them and move on with the rest of their lives."
Morris told FOX 13 News the victims and their families previously settled claims involving the bus driver.
