The Region - News from Feb. 11, 1987

A rookie driver, who was fired after her bus flipped over on the Hollywood Freeway, filed a $10-million wrongful termination suit, charging that the Southern California Rapid Transit District made her a “scapegoat” in retaliation for her public statements that mechanical problems and poor supervision had led to the accident. In her Los Angeles Superior Court action, Shirley Riojas, 28, said RTD officials maliciously told reporters she had tested positive for drug use, violating her privacy and leaving the false impression that drugs had caused the accident. Her lawyer, Rodney T. Lewin, said a test after the accident showed no evidence of drugs, except the tetracycline that she was taking for acne.