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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 scene said.
The girl who was injured is a special needs student who attends the Ridgewood public school system, said Dr. Leonard Fitts, the district's interim schools superintendent.
Fitts went to the scene and watched with obvious concern as the alert and conscious girl, fitted with a neck brace, was brought to a waiting ambulance seated upright on a stretcher.
The adult female passenger who was with him walked to a gurney in a neck brace. The driver of the Land Rover and his 15-year-old daughter got into the ambulance under their own steam.
The driver of the Mazda refused medical attention at the scene, Lutchke said.
The bus driver was clearly the most seriously injured. However, Luthcke said none of the injuries was considered life-threatening.
A police investigation was continuing, the chief said.
Boyd A. Loving took the photos and contributed to this account.
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