Zarutska Family Sues Charlotte, Contractor Over 2025 Light Rail Killing
Updated
Updated · Fox News · Aug 21
Zarutska Family Sues Charlotte, Contractor Over 2025 Light Rail Killing
3 articles · Updated · Fox News · Aug 21
Summary
A year after Iryna Zarutska was fatally stabbed on Charlotte’s Lynx Blue Line, her family filed a wrongful-death suit accusing the city and contractor Professional Security Services of preventable security failures.
The complaint says no guard was aboard the train on Aug. 22, 2025, and alleges PSS was under contract for 219 security staff but had hired 183, including 11 armed guards versus up to 39 funded.
It also faults fare enforcement, alleging accused attacker Decarlos Brown Jr. rode without paying and that the system lacked physical barriers to keep unticketed riders off the light rail.
The estate claims Charlotte and PSS knew the Blue Line and its stops had a history of criminal activity, seeks more than $25,000 in damages and punitive damages from PSS, and says the case aims to prevent similar deaths.