NEW MARTINSVILE – The parents of a sophomore high school student who was injured while working on a tractor tire in a vocational agriculture class have filed a suit against a teacher and the school board.
Eric Leek and Marla Steward, as natural parents of Riley Leek, filed a complaint in Wetzel Circuit Court against Tyler County Board of Education and Santina Vigliotti alleging negligence.
Riley Leek was attending an agricultural mechanics class at Tyler Consolidated High School on May 2 when the tractor tire he and other students were working on ignited and exploded, according to the suit. The suit states Leek was thrown about 20 feet into the air and suffered severe injuries. The plaintiffs allege the students were unsupervised and that Vigliotti was the substitute teacher for the class.
The plaintiffs seek compensatory damages, interest, a trial by jury and all other just relief. They are represented by Eric Hayhurst of Hayhurst Law PLLC in Morgantown.
The case has been assigned to Circuit Judge David W. Hummel Jr.
Wetzel Circuit Court case number 19-C-67