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Hudy Muldrow, now 83, was taking 40 East Brook Middle School fifth graders and a small group of adults on a field trip to Waterloo Village on May 17, 2018 when he got lost and tried to make an illegal U-turn on the busy interstate in Mount Olive.
A dump truck slammed into the bus, killing young Miranda Vargas and teacher Jennifer M. Williamson, 51.
Dozens more were injured, including the driver for Mendez Trucking whose rig hit the bus, knocking it from its chassis and onto a highway median.
Muldrow, of Woodland Park, was 77 at the time. He didn't have a criminal record. He did, however, have 14 license suspensions and reportedly received a reckless driving summons just weeks before the double-fatal crash.
Rather than risk the potential outcome of a trial, Muldrow took a deal from prosecutors in Morristown. He pleaded guilty to two counts of vehicular homicide, six counts of assault by auto and one of child endangerment.
The judge at Muldrow's February 2020 sentencing said that it was "difficult to imagine the operation of a vehicle with a greater degree of recklessness."
He then sentenced Muldrow to an agreed-upon term that the New Jersey Department of Corrections says maxes out at South Woods State Prison in Cumberland County on July 19, 2026.
Muldrow's parole eligibility date: this May 19.
He will have served four years and three months at that point.
Against this backdrop, a series of lawsuits -- mostly against the school district -- continue to be settled.
Last fall, the Paramus School District agreed to pay the families of Miranda Vargas and a 10-year-old classmate who was severely injured a combined $19.5 million.
This past January the families settled for $650,000 from Mendez Trucking, which pushed the overall total past $20 million.
READ MORE: Fatal School Bus Crash Litigation Tops $20M After Additional Party Reaches $650K Settlement
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