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School Bus Safety

What Does Guilty Plea By Manager Of NJ Bus Company That Endangered Children Mean For Owner? What Does Guilty Plea By Manager Of NJ Bus Company That Endangered Children Mean For Owner?
What Does Guilty Plea By Manager Of NJ Bus Company That Endangered Children Mean For Owner? UPDATE: The prosecution of two Paterson-based school bus companies accused of risking children's safety by hiring criminals as drivers, operating unsafe buses and other violations has notched its first conviction. Will there be another? Henry Rhodes, 59, admitted in state Superior Court in Newark last week that he lied to school districts about the safety of buses and the credentials of drivers at both companies, New Jersey Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin said. The goal, authorities said, was to keep lucrative busing contracts in Essex, Hudson, Passaic and Union counties no matter the …
School Bus Company Brothers Charged With Using Criminals, Unlicensed Drivers In Bergen, Passaic School Bus Company Brothers Charged With Using Criminals, Unlicensed Drivers In Bergen, Passaic
School Bus Company Brothers Charged With Using Criminals, Unlicensed Drivers In Bergen, Passaic A River Edge police officer was in for a surprise when he pulled over a school bus driver for running a stop sign earlier this year. The driver for American Star Transportation of Paterson not only didn't have a license -- he had a criminal case pending in court for patronizing a prostitute, authorities said. Two brothers who operate American Star were arrested this week by state authorities who said they employed criminals and people with suspended licenses as drivers and then lied about it. Public school district officials not just in River Edge but also in Mahwah, Franklin Lakes, Paters…
UPDATE: School Bus Crash In Ridgewood Sends Six To Hospital UPDATE: School Bus Crash In Ridgewood Sends Six To Hospital
Update: School Bus Crash In Ridgewood Sends Six To Hospital UPDATE: A multi-vehicle crash in Ridgewood that sent a school bus driver, an 11-year-old special needs student and four other people to the hospital occurred when the driver ran a red light, the village police chief said. The bus was headed north on South Van Dien Avenue when "it apparently went through a red light and was hit by a Mazda CX-9 and a Land Rover" at East Ridgewood Avenue, Police Chief Jacqueline Lutchcke said following the 4 p.m. crash on Monday, Sept. 19. The incident was captured by a dashboard camera on a police cruiser that happened to be in the area, responders at the sc…
NJ: Couple Covered Up Hiring Criminals, Drug Addicts As Drivers For Unsafe School Buses NJ: Couple Covered Up Hiring Criminals, Drug Addicts As Drivers For Unsafe School Buses
NJ: Couple Covered Up Hiring Criminals, Drug Addicts As Drivers For Unsafe School Buses The owners of an Essex County-based school bus company whose driver OD'd and crashed with 12 special-needs kids on board hired criminals and drug addicts, put unsafe vehicles on the road and tried to cover it all up, state authorities charged. Ahmed Mahgoub, 62, and his wife, Faiza Ibrahim, 47, both of East Hanover, knowingly hired drivers for F&A Transportation who “did not hold valid commercial driver’s licenses or required license endorsements, as well as drivers who had criminal histories or were using illegal drugs,” Attorney General Gurbir S. Grewal said. The couple doctored vehic…
Newark High School Students Injured In Hit-Run Bus Crash Newark High School Students Injured In Hit-Run Bus Crash
Newark High School Students Injured In Hit-Run Bus Crash Five students and two adults were injured in a hit-and-run school bus crash Saturday afternoon in Newark. The bus from was carrying 13 people including West Side High School students when it was struck at Springfield Avenue and South 11th Street by a black Audi SUV, a Newark police spokeswoman said. The Audi driver fled the scene and seven people reported pain, authorities said. Further details were not released.The incident remains under investigation.
State: Paterson School Bus Company Hired Criminal, Sex Offender Drivers, Ran Unsafe Buses State: Paterson School Bus Company Hired Criminal, Sex Offender Drivers, Ran Unsafe Buses
State: Paterson School Bus Company Hired Criminal, Sex Offender Drivers, Ran Unsafe Buses A Paterson-based school bus company owner from Wayne and his manager hired criminals as drivers – including a registered sex offender – and covered it up, state authorities charged. Shelim Khalique, the 51-year-old owner/operator of A-1 Elegant Tours on Paterson Street, and manager Henry Rhodes, 56, of Paterson, hired drivers without background checks or mandatory drug tests while operating unsafe buses, state Attorney General Gurbir S. Grewal said. Personnel files seized last year revealed that A-1 – which has serviced Essex, Hudson, Passaic and Union counties -- employed several drivers w…
Car Sideswipes Paterson School Bus, Three Kids Hospitalized Car Sideswipes Paterson School Bus, Three Kids Hospitalized
Car Sideswipes Paterson School Bus, Three Kids Hospitalized Three Paterson children were hospitalized as a precaution after their school bus was sideswiped Tuesday morning, authorities said. The bus was parked at the corner of Trenton and Florida avenues when a Nissan Altima with a 30-year-old female driver came down the street shortly before 8:30 a.m., Public Safety Director Jerry Speziale said. "She was coming by alongside the bus as another car came in the other direction," Speziale said. "She swerved to avoid the other car and sideswiped the bus." Three grade schoolers of the 22 reported occupants on the bus were taken to St. Joseph's Regional …
School Bus Carrying 17 Students Continues On Route After Long Hill Fender Bender School Bus Carrying 17 Students Continues On Route After Long Hill Fender Bender
School Bus Carrying 17 Students Continues On Route After Long Hill Fender Bender A school bus with 17 students on board continued on its way after being struck in a chain reaction crash Wednesday morning in Long Hill, authorities said. ** UPDATE: A sedan driver was issued a summons for reckless driving following the crash ** No injuries were reported in the 7:10 a.m. incident on Morristown Road, Long Hill police said. The driver, headed to Warren Hills Regional High School, was stopped to pick up a student when the pick-up behind it was hit by another car, Long Hill police said. The bus suffered minimal damage and the driver continued on its way to school with a …
6 Students Hospitalized In Boonton School Bus Crash 6 Students Hospitalized In Boonton School Bus Crash
6 Students Hospitalized In Boonton School Bus Crash The driver of a school bus was found slumped on the floor after her bus carrying nearly 20 students crashed Friday in Boonton -- sending at least six of them to the hospital, ABC7 reports. Eighteen Rockaway Valley School students were on the bus when it struck a utility pole and wrought iron fence on Valley Road near a church cemetery, the article says. A teacher or aide guided the students out the back door and onto another bus that took them back to the school, ABC7 reports. The crash was under investigation as of 6:30 p.m. Friday. Photo by Anthony Johnson ABC7.
Long Hill School Bus Driver Cited In Crash That Downed Power Lines, Briefly Trapped Students Long Hill School Bus Driver Cited In Crash That Downed Power Lines, Briefly Trapped Students
Long Hill School Bus Driver Cited In Crash That Downed Power Lines, Briefly Trapped Students A 62-year-old Long Hill school bus driver has been cited for a crash last month that caused live power lines to fall on the vehicle, trapping eight students inside before power was shut to the area. Sarah Scott-Farrar of Irvington is on suspension with the bus company and is not driving a route in Long Hill, according to District Superintendent Edwin Acevedo. No injuries were reported in the Jan. 28 crash, when Scott-Farrar lost control of the vehicle while attempting a left turn. The eight children made it to school safely.
Kids OK After Mini-Cooper Rear-Ends School Bus On Route 4 In Hackensack Kids OK After Mini-Cooper Rear-Ends School Bus On Route 4 In Hackensack
Kids OK After Mini-Cooper Rear-Ends School Bus On Route 4 In Hackensack A group of youngsters on a school bus involved in a multi-vehicle crash Monday morning on westbound Route 4 in Hackensack were hospitalized as a precaution, responders said. None of the children on the White Plains Bus Company vehicle out of Westchester appeared seriously injured but were being taken to Hackensack University Medical Center to be completely checked out. It wasn't immediately clear where the youngsters are from. The driver of the Mini-Cooper, part of which slid under the school bus, was hospitalized with serious injuries, responders said.  Two occupants of a minivan that hi…
Bergenfield Mom Gets Youngsters Off Smoky School Bus In Paramus Bergenfield Mom Gets Youngsters Off Smoky School Bus In Paramus
Bergenfield Mom Gets Youngsters Off Smoky School Bus In Paramus Thick exhaust smoke billowed from the back of a school bus Monday as Bergenfield mom Michele Williams pulled up behind it on Century Road near George Washington Memorial cemetery in Paramus. While a daughter's friend dialed 911, Williams got out and found the driver walking toward the back of the Bergen Academies bus -- and more than a dozen students still aboard. "He was yelling in Spanish on his cellphone," Williams said. "The back of the bus was engulfed in smoke. "I got on the bus and asked the kids what was going on. They said: 'We don't know. It smells like gasoli…