DALLAS, April 13 (UPI) -- A Texas judge declared a mistrial in a lawsuit involving a deadly bus crash after learning the sister of a survivor had been killed in a weekend car crash.
A jury had been seated and opening statements were scheduled Monday when Judge Mary Murphy was informed that the sister of one of the 15 plaintiffs had died in the crash Sunday night, The Dallas Morning News reported.
Attorney David Schiller said the family of 13-year-old Rebecca Foster could not continue with the trial after the tragedy. After a 30-minute meeting in chambers the judge complied with his request to declare a mistrial.
Foster was one of three people killed in the crash north of Dallas after attending an Easter church service. Her best friend, Rachel Christensen, and her father, Ronald Christensen, 48, also died in the accident.
Foster's sister, Christina, was seriously injured two years ago in a charter bus crash near Terrell in East Texas. Lawsuits were filed against the tour and bus operators after the crash that killed four children and the bus driver. The trial will now be rescheduled at a later date.
