KC woman suing Jefferson City trolley company for accident

A Kansas City woman who sustained serious injuries in a September 2015 accident in Cole County has filed a personal injury lawsuit against the company that owns the trolley she was riding in at the time.

Barbara Sexton, 23, filed the suit this week in Cole County Circuit Court against The Trolley Company LLC of Jefferson City.

The Missouri Highway Patrol said Sexton, who lived in Colorado at the time of the accident, was riding in an eastbound trolley on U.S. 50, just west of Lisletown Road, when she leaned out the window of the vehicle and fell.

The patrol said she was exempt from using a safety device.

She was taken to University Hospital in Columbia by ambulance for treatment of her injuries.

In Sexton's suit, the trolley was reported to have been going 65 mph. She claims she was sitting on the top edge of a bench seat back when the trolley sharply rounded a curve, pushing her back toward the side of the bus and impacting with the emergency exit window. The window suddenly opened, and Sexton was sucked from the trolley and landed on the road, according to the suit.

Sexton said her injuries consisted of a fracture at the base of her skull, fractures to her collar bone, a mild traumatic brain injury and internal bleeding in her skull.

Sexton's suit stated the trolley operator, John Wiseman, of Jefferson City, breached his duty to operate the trolley in a safe and prudent manner by driving at excessive speeds and allowing more occupants than should have been allowed on board. She also claims the company is vicariously liable for Wiseman's negligence.