LAS VEGAS (AP) — A man who lost a leg at age 15 when he was struck by a vehicle as he sat on a Las Vegas bus stop bench is suing for damages, alleging that shelters are deliberately built dangerously close to busy roads.
Conan Obenchain alleges in a federal lawsuit filed this week that putting a shelter 3 feet from the curb creates a foreseeable danger to the public.
A driver later pleaded guilty to drunken driving in the crash that injured Obenchain in February 2012.
The Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada acknowledges that many bus stop benches and shelters are close to the road.
A commission spokeswoman declined Friday to comment on the civil lawsuit filed Monday. It was first reported by the Las Vegas Review-Journal.
But she says the RTC has spent millions since 2008 upgrading and moving shelters back where they can.