School Bus Crash Only 1 of 3 other Fatal Crashes on Route 80 in Mt. Olive New Jersey.
On May 17, 2018, Paramus School Bus Driver Hudy Muldrow, 77, after being the 2nd of 3 bus drivers who missed a turn off to his destination attempted to correct his error and avoid a delay in getting to his destination by going across three lanes of traffic to get to an Official Vehicle U-Turn area in the middle median on Route 80 in Mt. Olive New Jersey.
The driving maneuver was described as crossing in an almost perpendicular to the lanes of traffic on Route 80 to reach an Official Vehicle U-Turn in the middle median.
The pictures of the Paramus School District School bus on its side in the center median with its upper passenger area separated from the buses chassis which was in the roadway make it possible to visualize the horrific crash.
A 5th Grade Student, Miranda Vargas, and a teacher Jennifer Williamson Kennedy were killed as a result of the crash. There were an additional 46 persons mostly children who were injured some seriously but who survived as of the publication of this article. This accident occurred at Milepost 25.1 of Route 80 Westbound.
A review of the Fatal Accidents report from the New Jersey State Police Fatal Accident Investigation Unit North Squad reveals that there have been two other fatal accidents at Milepost 25 this year. All the fatal accidents have occurred on the West side of that stretch of the highway.
On January 17, 2018, John and Dawn Rodriguez, 52 and 49 years old respectively when their vehicle a Honda Ridgeline Truck was hit by a dump truck who crossed the median from the eastbound side of the roadway to the westbound side of the roadway and collided with the Rodriguez’s vehicle. The Dump Truck lost control after one of his tires blew out. The fatality occurred at mile marker 25.4 Westbound on Route 80. just .3 miles from the Paramus Bus accident and also involving a Dump Truck.
On June 1, 2018, Brandon Lastfogel, 30 years old, was riding his Harley Davidson motorcycle westbound on Route 80 at mile marker 25.7 when he collided with a deer that came into the roadway. He was ejected from his bike by the impact and subsequently hit by another vehicle. The fatality occurred at mile marker 25.7 just .6 from the Paramus School Bus Crash and .3 from the Blown Dump Truck/Crossed the Median John and Dawn Rodrigues crash.
With respect to criminal charges, Hudy Muldrew was charged by the Morris County Prosecutor’s office with two counts of Reckless Vehicular Homicide (also known as Death by Auto). With respect to the Rodribuez and the Lastfogel accidents, it appears from a review of articles related to the crashes no criminal charges were brought related to those fatal accidents.