Family of Pennsylvania Man Sues Over Fatal Grand Canyon Bus Trip

Jeffery Volkar and his family traveled from Pennsylvania for a Grand Canyon tour, but instead, he and 38 others became stranded in a broken-down bus under intense desert heatImage Source: Shutterstock.com

The relatives of a Pennsylvania man who lost his lifeduring a Grand Canyon tourhave started legal action against several groups they believe caused his death. This happened in July 2023when Jeffery Volkar, 66, a former bricklayer, died from heat exposure. He was stuck in a broken-down tour bus in the Arizona desert.

Tourist’s Heat Death on Broken Bus Leads to Wrongful Death Suit in Nevada

The lawsuit filed in Nevada’s Eighth Judicial District Court, names several defendants. These include American Transportation Systems(the bus operator), bus driver Robert LaRoche, and Kenneth Pontone, who runs Canyon Tours. The complaint also lists Sightseeing Tours Unlimited, which does business as Gray Line Las Vegas, reported The Las Vegas Review-Journal.

Volkarand his family came from Pennsylvaniato enjoy a scenic Grand Canyon trip. Instead, he and 38 other passengersended up stuck inside a broken-down busin extreme desert heat. They had no air conditioning, could not open the windows, and waited over three hours for help. The lawsuit claims these harsh conditions caused Volkarto die from overheating.

Family membersrepresented by Las Vegas law firm Shook & Stonewant money for funeral and medical expenses, emotional distress, and punitive damages. The people suing include Volkar’s wife, daughters, son-in-law, grandson, and other relativeswho joined him on the trip.

Court papers claim the bus had existing mechanical problemsthat the operators knew about before the tour. Even with this knowledge, they put the vehicle back to work without proper checks or fixes. The lawsuit also states that emergency plans were missing and that passengers got no instructions or real help when the breakdown happened.

Lawsuit Over Grand Canyon Death Highlights Failures in Desert Tour Safety

Volkar’s familyclaims that their many requests for assistance went unheard and that no backup plan existed to handle the growing heat emergency. They blame the defendants for not meeting even the simplest safety rules needed for commercial transport in the desert.

People remember Volkaras a family-oriented man who belonged to the Bricklayers and Allied Craftworkers Local 9his whole life. He loved outdoor pursuits like hunting and fishing. His death notice portrayed him as someone who valued life’s small joys and old Western movies.

The lawsuithighlights rising worries about heat-related deaths in the area. Arizonareported almost 1,000 such fatalities in 2023, while Southern Nevadahas experienced a steep rise, too. Experts caution that extreme heat events are becoming more frequent because of climate change, which increases the dangers for people traveling in desert areas.