School district to pay $4.8 million to family of victim in school bus fire

A western Iowa school district will pay $4.8 million to settle a lawsuit brought by the family of 16-year-old girl who died in a 2017 school bus fire that also killed the bus driver.

Riverside Community School District reached the settlement this week with the family of Megan Klindt. She died when the bus became stuck in a ditch, leading to a fire in the engine compartment that spread to the passenger compartment. The fire also killed 74-year-old Donnie Hendricks.

An attorney for the school district had said Thursday that the settlement terms were confidential, but the Iowa Freedom of Information Council later released the details.