A Coquitlam-based tour company is facing more court action on the first anniversary of a fatal crash in Oregon.
Mi Joo Tour and Travel, which had its headquarters on North Road in Burquitlam, is now being sued by 10 survivors of the Dec. 30, 2012, bus collison as well as the estates of two passengers who died.
Nine people were killed and 38 passengers hurt in the highway accident near Pendleton, Ore. that saw the bus break through a guardrail and veer down an embankment.
The most recent lawsuit, in which $700 million US in damages is being sought, is the latest in a number of legal challenges against the company this year.
In the statement of claim filed last week in Oregon, the 10 survivors and two estates allege the driver was speeding at the time, was not driving safely and was tired.
It is alleged Mi Joo's bus driver, Haeng Kyu Hwang, of Surrey, had spent 92 hours behind the wheel during an eight-day trip of the western U.S. - 22 more hours than permitted.
Last January, following the fatal crash, the U.S. Department of Transportation ordered Mi Joo to cease operations in America; the Commercial Vehicle Safety and Enforcement branch also suspended Mi Joo's National Safety Code certification to operate in B.C.
A request for comment from Mi Joo's lawyer in Seattle was not immediately returned. Last January, Mark Scheer told The Tri-City News the bus was travelling on a dangerous road and had slid on black ice.
