New video shows moments before child was hit by bus in January, Katona family plans to file civil suit

SUSSEX, Wis. (CBS 58) -- The family of Finn Katona, the five-year-old boy who was killed in January when a school bus ran him over, will soon file a lawsuit against his school district and the bus company.

It comes a short time after the Waukesha County Sheriff's Department confirmed the bus driver will not face charges.

The family's attorney said the family is upset this incident was described as an accident because they allege the school district and bus company created an unsafe environment.

On January 2, 2025, Finn was one of dozens of students transferring buses at Silver Spring Intermediate School. The other children - some as young as four - walked among the buses, many of them just inches away.

With the children seemingly out of the way and on a raised median, a bus started to pull away. At about the same moment, Finn stumbled off the median and fell in front of the bus's rear wheel.

The bus driver was not ticketed or charged at the scene. She cooperated with authorities, showed no signs of impairment, and blood tests later showed she had no drugs or alcohol in her system.

Months later, in early August, the Waukesha County Sheriff's Department released a heavily redacted report on the incident, confirming there was no criminal activity.

But the Katona family's attorney said there is a lack of accountability from the Hamilton School District and the Dairyland Bus Company.

A statement from the family read, "our hearts ache every day without him." They allege the bus transfer process put children at great risk, with "too many children walking in opposite directions, on a concrete island, surrounded by moving buses."

"Finn simply tripped in an environment that was not set up to be safe for him," it went on. "It cost him his life."

Over the phone, the attorney said the family will soon file a civil suit against the bus company and the school district.

In an interview with detectives immediately after the accident, the bus driver said, "I've kinda thought about safety before." She said having fifth and sixth grade students lead the younger children through a crowd and near other buses "always felt kind of unsafe to me."

CBS 58 reached out Thursday, Aug. 28, and a school district spokesperson wrote back, "Thank you for reaching out. We will not be offering a comment at this time."

The Katona family's attorney said they do not want to speak on camera at this time.

After Finn's death, the school district changed the bus transfer procedures.

The Dairyland Bus Company did not respond to our requests for comment.