## Facts

- Alma Santiago, an eighth-grade student, rode home from school on a bus owned and operated by First Student, Inc., doing business as Ryder Student Transportation Services.
- Santiago claimed she was injured when the school bus was involved in a collision with another vehicle while traveling in Providence, Rhode Island, during the afternoon.
- The alleged accident occurred within a limited date and time range in November 1997, but Santiago could not identify the precise date.
- In discovery, Santiago testified that she could not remember the specific street, neighborhood, or intersection where the collision occurred and stated she could not locate the street if she tried.
- Santiago could not identify the other vehicle or its driver.
- Santiago could not identify the bus driver by name and could provide only a general description.
- Santiago testified that she did not actually see the impact; she recalled the bus approaching an intersection where the bus driver had a stop sign, a vehicle coming from the right, and the bus braking.
- Santiago described being jerked forward when the brakes were applied and striking the right side of her face on the seat in front of her.
- Santiago could not describe the speed of the vehicles, which driver had the right-of-way, whether the other vehicle faced a stop sign, or any specific act or omission by either driver that caused the collision.
- No police responded to the incident, and no police report documented the collision.
- Santiago could not identify available witnesses who could explain how the collision occurred.
- First Student asserted there was no corroborating documentation, such as company accident records, confirming that the collision occurred as described.
- Santiago sued First Student for negligence, alleging the bus driver’s conduct caused her injuries.

## Issues

1. Whether a negligence claim can survive summary judgment when the plaintiff offers no competent evidence of specific negligent conduct and relies on conclusory allegations about how an accident occurred.
2. Whether a jury may infer negligence from the mere fact of a collision and injury when the plaintiff cannot identify the accident’s location, circumstances, or fault-based conduct by the defendant.

## Decision

- The Supreme Court of Rhode Island affirmed the Superior Court’s grant of summary judgment for First Student.
- The court held that, even viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to Santiago, she failed to produce evidence from which a reasonable factfinder could conclude that First Student (through its driver) breached a duty of care.
- The court concluded that imposing liability on this record would require speculation rather than a reasonable inference grounded in facts.
- Because Santiago did not meet her burden to show a genuine issue of material fact on negligence, First Student was entitled to judgment as a matter of law.

## Legal Principles

- A party moving for summary judgment must first show the absence of a genuine issue of material fact; once that showing is made, the nonmoving party must respond with competent evidence, not mere allegations.
- Negligence is not established by the occurrence of an accident alone; a plaintiff must present evidence of a duty, breach, causation, and damages.
- A plaintiff must prove negligence by a preponderance of the evidence; liability cannot rest on conjecture about what happened or who was at fault.
- Circumstantial proof may support a negligence claim, but inferences must be reasonable and based on facts in the record, not guesswork.
- The difficulty of proving a claim does not reduce the plaintiff’s burden to present evidence sufficient to raise a triable issue.

## Conclusion

Because Santiago could not provide facts identifying where the collision occurred or describing how the bus driver acted unreasonably, and because no witness or documentary evidence supplied those missing details, the court ruled that any finding of negligence would be speculative and affirmed summary judgment for First Student.


Santiago v. First Student, Inc., 839 A.2d 550 (2004)