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Driver Ran Light In School Bus Crash That Injured Ridgewood Special Needs Student, 11: Police

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 scene said.

The crash occurred at South Van Dien and East Ridgewood avenues in Ridgewood.

Boyd A. Loving for DAILY VOICE

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.

A concerned Dr. Leonard Fitts, Ridgewood's interim superintendent of schools, went to the crash scene.

Boyd A. Loving for DAILY VOICE

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 driver of the Land Rover and his 15-year-old daughter were also hospitalized following the crash in Ridgewood.

Boyd A. Loving

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.

Three vehicles in all, including the school bus, were involved in the crash at South Van Dien and East Ridgewood Avenue in Ridgewood.

Boyd A. Loving for DAILY VOICE

Boyd A. Loving took the photos and contributed to this account.

The vehicles had to be towed from the scene in Ridgewood.

Boyd A. Loving for DAILY VOICE

The crash occurred at South Van Dien and East Ridgewood avenues in Ridgewood around 4 p.m. on Monday, Sept. 19.

Boyd A. Loving for DAILY VOICE

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