No criminal charges in KCK party bus death

Wyandotte County prosecutors have decided not to file criminal charges in connection with the death of a woman who fell from a moving party bus in May.

Jamie Frecks, 26, was a passenger on the bus, which was operated by a company called Midnight Express. It was traveling on Interstate 35 in Kansas City, Kan., when she fell from a side door on the bus and was struck by several passing vehicles.

The U.S. Department of Transportation subsequently ordered the company to cease operation, citing “appalling” and “egregious” safety problems that posed “an imminent hazard to public safety.”

Frecks, who had a 2-month-old daughter at the time of her death, was celebrating a friend’s bachelorette party when the accident occurred.

Prosecutors said Tuesday that based on the information they reviewed there was not enough evidence to pursue a criminal case.

A wrongful-death lawsuit filed on behalf of her daughter and other surviving relatives is pending in Wyandotte County District Court.

Attorneys for the family released a statement Tuesday on their behalf.

“Jamie’s family appreciates the investigation done by the district attorney’s office and understands the burdens the office would have faced in pursuing criminal charges,” the statement read. “We hope to learn more about the operation of the Midnight Express bus and business as discovery continues in the civil case.”

This story was originally published October 29, 2013 at 12:24 PM.