Corboy & Demetrio Files Wrongful Death Suit Against School Districts for Jenna Menias' Death

CHICAGO, Oct. 3, 2026 /CourierPR/ -- Corboy & Demetrio has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Lincoln-Way Community High School District 210 and Frankfort School District 157-C for the death of 6-year-old Jenna Menias, who was struck and killed by a school bus on September 8, 2026, just seconds after being dropped off at her home.

The lawsuit, filed by Corboy & Demetrio Partner Daniel S. Kirschner, alleges that both districts had a duty to ensure the safety of students but failed to do so.

Jenna, a second grader at District 157-C, was being transported by a school bus operated by District 210 pursuant to an intergovernmental agreement between the districts. The lawsuit claims that the bus route and drop-off procedures were not safe, with Jenna being dropped off alone, hundreds of feet from her house, on the opposite side of the street without sidewalks or a defined crosswalk.

In the weeks leading up to Jenna's death, her mother had expressed concerns to District 157-C about the safety of the bus route and drop-off procedures. She demanded a change, but the district denied her request in an email obtained by Kirschner. Similarly, in 2022, the mother had made the same request regarding her son's transportation, and the district denied that request as well.

The lawsuit also highlights that the bus driver, employed by District 210, was a substitute who had only recently obtained his school bus license and had never driven this route before. Onboard video obtained by Corboy & Demetrio shows that Jenna was off the bus and in plain sight in front of the bus within the roadway when the driver, without using his exterior mirrors or looking out the front windshield, proceeded forward, striking Jenna. The video also shows the driver driving the bus while looking down at a piece of paper in his right hand.

According to police reports, just hours before Jenna was killed, an internal email with the subject line "Challenging afternoon" was written by District 210's Director of Transportation lamenting that they had had a lot of late call-offs from drivers and that a department staffing shortage "makes a challenging day, worse."

The lawsuit was filed in Cook County Circuit Court on September 22, 2026, and seeks to hold the districts accountable for the death of Jenna Menias. The Menias family hopes that this lawsuit will provide answers and prevent such a tragedy from happening to another family.