Family of Pennsylvania Man Sues Over Fatal Grand Canyon Bus Trip

The relatives of a Pennsylvania man who lost his life during a Grand Canyon tour have started legal action against several groups they believe caused his death. This happened in July 2023 when 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.

Volkar and his family came from Pennsylvania to enjoy a scenic Grand Canyon trip. Instead, he and 38 other passengers ended up stuck inside a broken-down bus in 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 Volkar to die from overheating.

Family members represented by Las Vegas law firm Shook & Stone want 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 relatives who joined him on the trip.

Court papers claim the bus had existing mechanical problems that 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 family claims 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 Volkar as a family-oriented man who belonged to the Bricklayers and Allied Craftworkers Local 9 his 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 lawsuit highlights rising worries about heat-related deaths in the area. Arizona reported almost 1,000 such fatalities in 2023, while Southern Nevada has 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.