Dashcam video obtained exclusively by TLS shows the moment a school bus full of children collided with a car in Lakewood.
The accident happened on W. County Line Road on Monday afternoon, as reported on TLS Status and TLS Communities at the time.
The dashcam video shows a car pulling out of a block directly in front of the school bus, forcing the bus driver to swerve out of the way of a direct impact, but crashing into the front of the vehicle.
Immediately after the accident, the bus driver can be heard asking the children if they were okay before calling for help.
“As you can see, he had maybe 20-30 feet to avoid the collision,” a representative from the bus company told TLS. “He couldn’t slow a bus down in that amount of time – this is a 45 mph zone and he was actually below the speed limit.”
Had the bus driver not swerved, the driver of the car could have been killed by the direct impact.
“He honked away but the car kept coming,” the rep said. “He swerved to avoid the car, probably saving the other party’s life.”
He added, “Chasdei Hashem there were no cars in the left lane or oncoming traffic or this could have ended in a tragedy.”
“As a side note,” he added, “parents and children sometime think a driver is nasty when they tell the children to stay in their seats. Had children been standing during the accident, they could have ended up severely injured.”
The injuries to the driver were not serious.
People incapable of seeing a bus coming should not be allowed to drive.
That driver shouldn’t be allowed to drive even if he could see this school bus coming.
My daughter had this driver last year. Seeing and hearing this dashcam, I give him so much credit for keeping his cool, making sure the kids were ok, and letting them know in a calm voice that if they weren’t hurt it would be better to stay calm. Accidents are frightening and he did exactly as we would want our kids’ drivers to act. Hats off to C!!!
This bus driver deserves to be commended by his driving and his actions dealing with the accident!! Go bus driver of bus 359
Totally agree. Best driver ever!!
What a miracle taht the bus didn’t fall on its side. We should be grateful as a community that no one got hurt.
For the next month, every school bus should be followed by an undercover cop car that will ticket anyone who tries to pull any shtick around the school bus, with the maximum fines and points enforced.
I agree 1000000 percent.
Where is the money and manpower coming from to do that?
from all the fines they will collect $$$$$
Response time with Hatzola was crazy fast!
They were there WITH THE AMBULANCE in 1:05!! unbelievable!!
Initially, i had the same reaction but there seems to be an interrupted sequence in the video.
@ 1:26, the driver is in middle of talking to the dispatcher and there’s no sign of the ambulance. @ 1:27, there’s no conversation with the dispatcher and the ambulance appears out of nowhere.
I’m sorry this happened. This person was either desperate to pull out and turn or was just plain inpatient. In the first case Mayor Coles should again weigh in on this crazy town of no green arrows, gridlock, lack of crossing guards but Lakewood keeps building…In the second case the lack of patience can be very costly to one’s relationship with Hashem, with others and his material possessions. Baruch Hashem that this accident wasn’t worse and that the driver wasn’t killed.
Please, be patient and take the extra few minutes instead of taking chances….
Also I noticed a lack of kindness on the road. No one in Lakewood lets you turn from a side street onto the 9. And if you do ever let people in, the driver(s) behind you are so angry and upset they honk at you. This is petty, ridiculous and not rational. Share the road and drive normally. You will get to where you need to be.q
Never stop on highways to let cars in, that is extremely dangerous, it is how accidents happen, if you don’t want to wait go to a street with a light, there are plenty of those.
this occurred in Jackson.
Um, nope. Happened at Metedeconk Ln. which is 3 streets from the Jackson border.
I try to let at least one person in when I’m on the 9. As an out of towner living here 19 years, I was terrified when cars honked at me for letting Yidden out of their driveway on Monmouth. I’ve become a lot tougher. Chesed should not leave our personalities when we are on the road. We are blessed to have cars, money to pay for gas, hands and brains that function to drive. It’s a gift, not an entitlement, to drive.
You have to keep in mind cars behind you also. You might be making a bunch of people wait, just to let one person go. obviously it depends on the situation, but you have to be aware.
TLS PLEASE COMMEND THIS WONDERFUL DRIVER PUBLICLY!
WHERE IS THE POLICE ENFORCEMENT!?!?
This person needs to be made into an example. The driver needs to be ticketed and made public by The Lakewood Scoop
I am beginning to recall the story of Bar Kamtza.
Don’t think to hard, but the situations are different. I am talking about saving children’s lives. Something needs to change with the lakewood driving and hopeful soon
So tell everyone your name so it can be publicized and can get sent a ticket.
Police enforcement were here the last two weeks because people were speeding through our neighborhood while trying to avoid the morning traffic on County Line Road. Pulled over a bunch of cars, but they can’t be here 24/7/365. I don’t think this person was from our neighborhood because we are all smart enough to know if you need to head east it’s safer to go to the traffic light at Hope Rd.
To wow.
What’s about LOSON HRARA & killing the family?
Did you consult with a BAIS DIN of 72 Dayonim?
The car was 100 percent wrong!!!! The bus was 100 percent right; let the police take care of it.
What if a child chas v’shalom was seriously injured or worse? Please need to learn to slow down a minute and enjoy the time they have on this earth. If we are always in a rush to cut people off, then we don’t have time to be thankful and enjoy the wonderfully things going on in Lakewood.
Mistakes happen.
Obviously the driver was only looking to his RIGHT and saw a break in the traffic and tried to make a quick turn… He should have checked again to his left… Very bad decision
Anyone who thinks a driver is nasty for insisting kids have their seatbelts on needs their head examined. Shame on those people.
Just another typical day in Lakewood. STOP signs are there for a reason. The bus had the right of way. This happened to me on New Hampshire Ave a couple years ago. The other driver ran the Stop sign from the Side Street. I was on New Hampshire and had NO time to stop to not hit him. My car was totaled. Thank God I was OK.
Lakewood should follow Rockland county busses- put cameras on the outside of the bus and ticked anyone who passes stop sign or school bus related violations
Same exists in Jackson.
I avoid driving through Lakewood unless I need to simplify for the drivers there. There is a lack of respect for other cars, and the roads, rudeness, impatience, self-centerness which results in the risk of hurting others sooner or later. I always take the high road and yield. Driving is a privilege and respect 🙏 life.
Making a left turn onto a main road (or even going straight across a main road) across several lanes of traffic is dangerous and should be avoided.
Even while on the main road, although one can argue about what could/should constitute courtesy on the road, when it is a 2 lane road in each direction, or even a one lane road in each direction with room to squeeze around on the right, allowing a left turn in front of you may not be safe. The oncoming traffic in the other lane or the driver squeezing around you as you extend courtesy to the left turning car presents danger to the turning car if they don’t also stop.
The car is most definitely at fault here. However, looking at the video which shows the speed of the bus, from the time the car recklessly pulled out until impact the bus actually picked up in speed. I’m not saying the bus driver accelerated, the increase in speed can be from momentum but it surly seems like the bus driver did not hit the Brake…
What an incredible bus driver! I wish every single one of my children’s bus drivers were like this one. He kept his cool and handled the seriousness of the situation with grace! Kudos to you Mr bus driver! …. And to all the other bus drivers who do an excellent job behind the scenes that we don’t get to see.
Is the care fault
Car
I drive on Rte. 9 every day and the drivers for the most part are considerate and do let people make left turns, as do I. There is nothing wrong with slowing down and being polite and if people are too impatient to let people in front of them allow another driver to turn, they are in the wrong. If you’re in such a hurry then leave earlier. Anyone driving on Rte. 9 on a regular basis knows you can’t go anywhere fast so leave in time to get to where you are going.
making a short stop in such a large vehicle can actually prove MORE catastrophic in many instances. It could be that the driver was trying to speed up in order to swerve around the car before it made it across the intersection.