A child has been left with “serious injuries” and 13 others have also been injured following a school bus crash in New Jersey.
In a statement obtained, New Jersey State Police confirmed the bus was traveling on the Garden State Parkway when it crashed and overturned on Monday, March 10.
Authorities said the bus driver also sustained “moderate injuries” in the crash, while “a juvenile passenger sustained serious injuries, and 13 other juveniles sustained minor injuries.”
“Based on a preliminary investigation, a school bus operated by Joseph Itzkowitz, a 44-year-old male from Lakewood, NJ, was traveling north on the GSP,” the statement read. “In the area of milepost 170.5, the bus traveled off the right side of the roadway and overturned.”
Following the crash, Montvale Mayor Mike Ghassali shared updates on Facebook and posted photos of first responders surrounding the overturned bus, which had been carrying 31 people.
“Overturned school bus heading to New York State on the Parkway at marker 170.9, with injuries. Parkway lanes closed at this time,” Ghassali wrote.
“Update: Thankfully no fatalities reported. One serious injury,” he later added. “31 total occupants on the bus heading to New York, 13 transported to local hospitals.”
A New Jersey State Police vehicle in Montvale, New Jersey.
Kyle Mazza/NurPhoto via AP
According to ABC 7, the bus was reportedly carrying children who had been celebrating the birth of a rabbi’s grandchild.
“I’ve been briefed on a crash on the Garden State Parkway earlier tonight near the James Gandolfini Service Area involving an overturned school bus from Lakewood,” New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy wrote on X on Monday. “@NJSP and @NewJerseyDOT are currently on the scene.”
