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We were appalled to read about a crash between a school bus and a dump truck in New Jersey today that left two people dead on the bus and multiple people injured.
A teacher and a student on a field trip were killed. A school bus collided with a dump truck and flipped over on Interstate 80 in Mount Olive Township in Morris County.
On the same day, a school bus driver was cited in Virginia Beach after a crash between a school bus and a car sent 11 people to a local hospital. Fortunately, none of the injuries were life-threatening.
The crash in New Jersey was of a different magnitude altogether. School buses are robust but crashes involving dump trumps are often serious given the bulk and weight of these vehicles. Questions are being asked about the company that owns the dump truck hours after the tragedy.
The company that owns the truck has been hit with numerous fines and safety violations in recent years reported the New York Post.
Mendez Trucking’s 41 trucks and drivers had been involved in no fewer than eight previous crashes. It has received issued 247 violations over the last two years alone, according to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration.
The New Jersey-based company’s trucks have been cited for defective brakes and failing to properly secure loads. The truck involved in Thursday’s crash was previously cited for oil and grease leaks, excessive weight and unsecured cargo.
The cause of the Mount Olive Township crash with the school bus has not been released by police. The Post reported a red dump truck with an identical plate number to the one in the crash was involved in a single-vehicle accident on the New Jersey Turnpike in the summer of 2016.
More than 40 people were injured in Thursday’s crash, some critically, according to police. Mount Olive Mayor Rob Greenbaum, confirmed there were possible ejections in the crash.
The school bus was transporting students from East Brook Middle School in Paramus, New Jersey on a trip to Waterloo Village, a historic town.
Images from the scene showed the front of the dump truck sheared off while the school bus was mangled after hitting a guardrail and flipping over.
New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy confirmed the two fatalities in the crash between a school bus and a dump truck included a teacher and a student. He said some of the victims of the crash were in a critical condition and undergoing surgery. The driver of the dump truck is alive and being treated at a nearby hospital.
Our thoughts are with the families who lost loved ones and the injured after this horrific incident. It’s important that whoever was responsible for this tragic wreck is held to account for their actions.
Accidents involving school buses occur frequently in Hampton Roads, but injuries sustained by people on the bus are seldom of a life-threatening nature.
Eight students on a bus in Virginia Beach were transported to a local hospital for evaluation Thursday after a collision between the school bus and a car.
WAVY.com reported a substitute bus driver was ticketed after the crash at 7:45 a.m. sent a total of 11 people to the hospital.
Tonya Pierce, a Virginia Beach police spokeswoman, said eight students on the bus were transported to a nearby hospital for evaluation. At least one student complained of being injured.
There were 35 students on the bus at the time of the crash on the bus that was assigned to Shelton Park Elementary School.
The incident was reported at Independence Boulevard and Shelton Road. Police say an adult and two children in the car that was hit were also taken to the hospital. Their injuries were not listed as life-threatening.
School bus crashes occur with an alarming regularity in Hampton Roads and often a bus driver is to blame. Last year, eight people were hurt in a school bus crash in Virginia Beach.
If your child has been injured in a school bus crash, you may have grounds to file a claim against a school authority or another driver. Call our Hampton Roads bus accident injury lawyers for more details at (757) 455-0077.