Woman hit by UI Cambus agrees to $250,000 settlement

DES MOINES - The state has reached a quarter-million-dollar settlement with a University of Iowa student who was injured when struck by a Cambus while crossing a downtown Iowa City street in September 2011.

Rebecca Segriff, who was 20 at the time, claimed serious and permanent injuries as a result of being run over by a UI bus while using a crosswalk in the eastbound lanes of Madison Street, near the Washington Street intersection.

She and her attorney claimed the driver, Peter Leahy, was negligent. The $250,000 settlement payment approved Monday by the State Appeal Board releases UI and the state from any liability claims by Segriff or on her behalf.

According to reports at the time, Segriff was hit near the Main Library. Although the impact cracked the windshield of the bus and Segriff wound up underneath the vehicle, she was conscious when first responders arrived. She was treated at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics.

The settlement ends a lawsuit she brought seeking unspecified compensation for physical, emotional and mental pain and suffering, which includes costs for previous and future medical services, loss of full function of her body and disfigurement.

The lawsuit alleged Leahy failed to keep proper lookout, keep his motor vehicle under proper control or yield to Segriff as a pedestrian. It also alleged he operated the bus at a speed higher than what was reasonable and failed to sound his horn or warn Segriff he was approaching.

Cambus Manager Brian McClatchey said Cambus accidents involving pedestrians occur less than once a year.