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In a press conference on Friday, Aug. 30, police said the bus driver involved in the crash, which happened on Thursday, June 20, and caused the death of Mamaroneck residents Michael Donovan Volpe, age 6, and his mother, 43-year-old Molly Murphy Donovan, would not be criminally charged, according to a report by ABC7.
Although he will escape charges, the driver was still issued summonses for using his cell phone while driving, even though he was not on his device at the time of the crash and was not speeding, the outlet reported.
On the day of the crash at around 8:30 a.m., the mother and son were struck by a school bus at the intersection of New Street and Mamaroneck Avenue. The bus had been turning left onto Mamaroneck Avenue with the green light while several parents and children had been crossing the street at the crosswalk with the walk sign, according to police.
As a result of the crash, Westchester County and the Village of Mamaroneck teamed up to come up with safety improvements for pedestrians on the road where it happened. These include a new 25-mile-per-hour speed limit on Mamaroneck Avenue between Interstate 95 and Boston Post Road (Route 1) and an all-pedestrian phase light for the Mamaroneck Avenue and New Street stop light.
According to a report complied for the Village of Mamaroneck's Traffic Commission by the AKRF, Inc. consultant company in response to the fatal crash, between 2014 and 2023, there were 405 crashes on Mamaroneck Avenue between Andrews Street and Grand Street, averaging 41 a year. The report said that this included eight pedestrian crashes and four bicycle crashes.
The report also said the corridor crash rate on the stretch of road is three times the statewide average.
Click here to read the full report by ABC7.
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