Dead Girl’s Family Sues Over Mall Bus Policy

The family of a black teenager run down by a dump truck sued the owners of a shopping mall on Friday, blaming her death on the mall’s refusal to allow buses from black neighborhoods on the property.

“We are here to speak up for Cynthia,” attorney Johnnie Cochran said as he announced the $210 million lawsuit. “An example has to be made of the people who caused this.”

The mall’s owners say the charges of racism are being used to distract attention from the facts. Pyramid Management Group of Syracuse denied that its bus policy was racially motivated. The aim was to relieve traffic congestion, it said.

Cochran, who led O.J. Simpson’s “dream team” defense, announced the lawsuit one day before the first anniversary of the accident that killed Cynthia Wiggins.

The 17-year-old mother of a newborn son took the bus to her job at a fast-food restaurant in the Walden Galleria mall, and was dropped off across the street.

She was forced to cross a seven-lane highway with no sidewalk, crosswalk or bus shelter. A recent storm had left the sides of the road piled with snow.

The transportation authority said in January that Pyramid had rejected requests to let in buses from Buffalo’s predominantly black east side, while allowing buses from other neighborhoods onto the property.