NJ school bus missed exit before crash; police probing if driver tried illegal U-turn
NEW JERSEY (FOX5NY.COM) - Investigators are working to determine why a school bus carrying fifth graders on a field trip and a dump truck collided on a busy New Jersey highway, killing a student and a teacher. The crash tore apart the school bus and badly damaged the truck.
Officials are looking into the possibility the bus driver became separated from the other buses, missed the exit, and attempted to make an illegal U-turn moments before the bus was rear-ended by the dump truck.
The bus wound up on a guardrail close to a spot where emergency vehicles can make a U-Turn onto the highway. A sign there reads "No Turns."
A source identified the teacher as Jennifer Marie Williamson-Kennedy, 51, of Paramus. She taught social studies. Kevin Kennedy, her husband, told News 12 New Jersey that he is "in shock, devastated and totally crushed."
The name of the student had not been disclosed.
The crash Thursday morning occurred on a stretch of busy Interstate 80 and just past the exit for Waterloo Village, where the group from East Brook Middle School was headed.
Paramus school officials said they decided to hold classes Friday at the East Brook Middle School so students and staff could be together and grieve. Crisis counselors were on hand to offer assistance.