NJ Accident previously reported on the 2018 Route 80 school bus accident that resulted in the death of a teacher and a student along with multiple injuries to other students and staff on the school bus. The bus driver Hudy Muldrow Sr. pleaded guilty to reckless vehicular homicide, assault by auto and child endangerment this past December (2019). The maximum penalty was 10 years in Jail and that is the sentence that was imposed by the Superior Court Judge sitting in the Morris County Courthouse in Morristown, New Jersey this week.
A school trip turned very tragic when a lead bus missed an exit on Route 80 resulting in a delay in reaching the field trips destination. Mr. Muldrow who was following the lead bus made a decision to take a shortcut by utilizing an Official Vehicle turnaround in the middle median rather than go a substantial distance to the next Exit and turnaround. A turnaround used only by State Police officers in the performance of their duties. To get to the turnaround, Mr. Muldrow would have to traverse three lanes of traffic in a short distance from the entry ramp onto Route 80. What possessed Mr. Muldrow to attempt such a feat is unknown but his actions changed the lives of many persons as a Dump Truck traveling on Route 80, not expecting a school bus to attempt such a maneuver could not stop in time and hit the bus’ rear with such force that it separated the cab portion of the bus from its frame. A roadway video camera captured the maneuver and the moment of impact exonerating the Dump Truck driver. The accident took the lives of Jennifer Williamson, a 51-year-old teacher along with a Miranda Vargas, a 10-year-old student on the bus. Williamson’s husband and Vargas’ twin sister and mother spoke prior to sentencing.
Miranda Varga’s mother read a victim impact statement. In part, she stated, “My heart is destroyed because of one careless act of a man”. Jennifer Williamson’s family also spoke prior to the sentencing. Kevin Kennedy, her husband, read a poem detailing his sorrow and pain. “My heart is wounded, my stomach weak. I’m at my low from such a peak. It’s tough to think, it’s tough to say, but my beautiful wife has gone away,”
Mr. Muldrow expressed sorrow for his actions before he was sentenced. His expression of sorrow did not stop the sentencing Judge to impose the maximum penalty, 10 years in Jail.