(PUEBLO, Colo.) — A California couple is filing a federal lawsuit against the City of Pueblo, one year after a transit bus crashed into a home they owned. At the time, that couple was renting the home out to another family who lost everything, and now, they want in on this lawsuit as well.

On the afternoon of June 25, 2022, a Pueblo transit bus was hit by a car at the intersection of Berkley Avenue and Mesa Avenue. Emery Gonzalez was just 19 years old when she was sitting in her living room, and the bus then barreled into her home.

“Literally out of nowhere, it was like an explosion… like a bomb hit… I opened the door, the door that leads to my bedroom, and the bus was in my house,” said Gonzalez.

That day, Gonzalez said the couple filing the lawsuit lost their house, but she lost her home.

The remnants of the crash are still strikingly visible—it looks almost as if the crash had happened yesterday. The cracked windshield of the bus is still lying on the ground. The gaping hole in front of the house is where Gonzalez’s bedroom used to be. Her mattress, shoes, clothing items, and many of her other belongings are still underneath the bricks and rubble.

“That’s my bed right there, smashed,” Gonzalez said pointing to it. “If I was laying in that bed at that time, I would have died, without a doubt.”

Gonzalez was renting that home with her boyfriend and her brother through Pueblo Properties, LLC. Just over a week ago, on June 29, 2023, David and Nancy Salama, the California couple who owned the home, filed a lawsuit against the City of Pueblo, and Gonzalez wants in.

“They lost the home that they owned…But we lived here and lost everything. Had to start back up from ground zero and have gotten no help,” said Gonzalez, who says she has been financially supporting herself since she was 15 years old.

The bus not only destroyed their belongings but also managed to damage two of their cars. Along with the physical and monetary loss of all of their stuff, Gonzalez says she still grapples with the emotional trauma and PTSD from that day.

“Now when I’m at home or just in my car, I have a feeling like, just like I’m always on alert that something’s going to happen… Loud noises terrify me, slamming car doors… this 4th of July I peed my pants, I don’t know how many times, because it scared me so bad,” said Gonzalez.

The lawsuit accuses the bus driver of speeding and unsafe driving, stating, “the Bus veered to the right and went over the sidewalk curb, crashed through a fence… hit a parked car in the north driveway of 1207 Berkley Ave, and then crashed into the Salama’s House with significant enough force to completely destroy it… There is no reason for the Bus to have continued traveling such a great distance after the initial impact if it had been traveling the 30 mph speed limit.”

The suit also accuses the City of not taking reasonable steps to ensure the intersection was safe. According to the lawsuit, there have been more than 40 car accidents there in the past decade.

“I sit out here every day and I watch all kinds of cars, they just run the stop sign like they don’t care,” said Kendra Ross, who lives across from Gonzalez’s old house. She says she has seen multiple accidents over the three years she has lived there, but none as bad as this one.

“I saw her [Gonazalez’s] reaction when she came out of the house. She was just like, so shocked, and I really felt for her… They’re the ones that need to be reimbursed for everything… Because they lost their whole livelihood when they lost that house,” said Ross.

As Gonzalez, now 20 years old, rebuilds her life, she also hopes to pursue justice. She hopes the Salamas will allow her to join their lawsuit in their fight against the City.

“I would like to talk to them. It would be nice if we could come together and fight this together. Because I’m more than willing to. It’s their house, it’s our stuff… It’s not right,” said Gonzalez.

Gonzalez did try to file her own lawsuit against the City but said her lawyers told her there was nothing they could do and ended up dropping her. She is now trying to get in contact with the Salamas.

In a statement to FOX21, the City of Pueblo said they would not be commenting on pending litigation.