On May 17, 2018, a school bus carrying teachers and students from East Brook Middle School in Paramus, New Jersey to Waterloo Village, New Jersey crashed into a dump truck while making an illegal U-turn from Interstate 80 eastbound to westbound, in the town of Mount Olive. The driver missed the exit to Waterloo Village and attempted to illegally turn onto I-80 westbound to turn back to the exit, but crashed into a dump truck. One student and one teacher were killed, with 42 others being injured.[4]
| 2018 New Jersey bus crash | |
|---|---|
 Location of Mount Olive in Morris County, New Jersey | |
| Details | |
| Date | May 17, 2018 10:18 am EST |
| Location |  I-80 westbound in Mount Olive, New Jersey past exit 25 for  US 206 |
| Coordinates | 40°54′27″N 74°43′37″W / 40.9074996°N 74.7269121°W |
| Country | United States |
| Operator | Paramus Public Schools |
| Cause | Driver error; illegal U-turn |
| Statistics | |
| Bus | 1 |
| Vehicles | 2 |
| Passengers | 44 |
| Deaths | 2 (1 student, 1 teacher) |
| Injured | 42 (approximate) |
| References: [1][2][3] | |
The bus driver, Hudy Muldrow Sr., pleaded guilty to two counts of vehicular manslaughter, 25 counts of assault by auto, and endangering the welfare of children.[5] He also had a past history of 14[6] auto license suspensions since 1975. In response to the incident, governor Phil Murphy and several state senators signed two laws into effect in New Jersey ensuring safer school bus transportation and stricter punishments for suspended licenses, and representative Josh Gottheimer (NJ-5) lobbied in Congress for similar laws on the federal level.[7]
References
edit- ^ Sheldon, Chris (November 10, 2018). "Paramus school bus crash video made public, and it's as head-scratching today as it was in May". NJ.com. Retrieved August 27, 2023.
- ^ Hubbard, Daniel (December 28, 2018). "2018 Defining Moment: Fatal Paramus Bus Crash". Paramus, NJ Patch. Retrieved August 27, 2023.
- ^ McGeehan, Patrick; Corasaniti, Nick (May 17, 2018). "New Jersey School Bus Collides With Truck, Killing Student and Teacher". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved August 27, 2023.
- ^ Yi, Karen (May 18, 2018). "N.J. school bus accident: A timeline to the field trip tragedy". NJ.com. Retrieved May 6, 2023.
- ^ Kausch, Katie (February 26, 2020). "School bus driver in I-80 crash that killed Paramus student, teacher to be sentenced". NJ.com. Retrieved May 6, 2023.
- ^ Comstock, Lori (April 22, 2022). "Court rejects Paramus school bus driver's appeal of 'excessive' sentence for fatal crash". Daily Record. Retrieved May 6, 2023.
- ^ "RELEASE: Gottheimer Introduces Miranda's Law, Honoring Paramus Bus Crash Anniversary With National Seat Belt & School Bus Safety Legislation". Josh Gottheimer. Retrieved August 27, 2023.