Lawsuit blames tire distributor in crash that killed, injured Rock Hill football team members

A new lawsuit, filed by injured survivors of a 2016 Rock Hill football team bus crash, alleges a defective tire, distributed by a company in Ohio, caused the crash that left four dead and more than 40 injured.

The new lawsuit, filed recently in Chester County by members of Ramah Juco Academy football team, alleges negligence and product liability against Tyres International Inc. Tyres International is identified in the lawsuit as an Ohio company that distributed the tire made by Hanzhou Zhongce Rubber Company of China.

The tire “was defective which caused the tread to come off the tire,” the lawsuit claims. Tyres was negligent by distributing a tire with a “defect” that caused the crash, the suit alleges.

The Herald reported in August that the insurance company for Sandy River Baptist Church, which owned the bus, settled a lawsuit for $2 million after federal and state officials said the bus was not properly registered for commercial use and was not properly inspected or maintained.

“The bus never should have been on the road, and the tire caused the crash,” said Joel Hamilton, one of the lawyers for the injured players and coaches.

The bus was carrying 46 people in September 2016 when police said a tire blew and the bus crashed into a bridge on N.C. 74 bypass near Rockingham, N.C.

Killed in the crash were the driver, Andre Kirkpatrick, 43, of Chester; Clinton College students Devonte Gibson, 21, of Rock Hill and Tito Hamilton, 19, of Pahokee, Fla; and son of a coach Darice Lamont Hicks Jr., 8, of Rock Hill. Survivors endured broken bones and other physical injuries, the lawsuit claims.

Hamilton and David Manzi, another lawyer, had spent 13 months trying to pin down what company made the tire, how it was sold ,and how it was installed on the bus where it allegedly came apart.

The lawsuit does not ask for a dollar amount but demands actual and punitive damages.

Tyres International officials could not be reached for comment.

This story was originally published October 16, 2017 at 2:01 PM with the headline "Lawsuit blames tire distributor in crash that killed, injured Rock Hill football team members."