Pa. school nixes $14M award for teen in bus crash

FALLSINGTON, Pa. (AP) — A suburban Philadelphia school district said today that it's legally restricted to pay no more than $500,000 to a former high school student who lost a leg after being struck by a school bus, despite a jury awarding her $14 million in damages.

Ashley Zauflik, 22, of Fairless Hills, spent a month in a medically induced coma and had her leg amputated after the January 2007 crash.

The National Transportation Safety Board found that the driver stepped on the accelerator, not the brake, before crashing into a crowd of students during dismissal at Pennsbury High School. The driver disputed that finding, but the Pennsbury School District admitted liability before trial.

A jury last week awarded $14 million to Zauflik — $11 million for pain and suffering and other noneconomic damages and about $3 million for past and future medical expenses — after a four-day civil trial.