Multiple deaths reported after US school bus and truck collide

Multiple deaths reported after US school bus and truck collide

A US school bus taking children on a field trip to a New Jersey historic site has collided with a dump truck leaving a number of people dead.

The front end of the school bus appeared to be ripped off in the accident on Interstate 80 in Mount Olive.

The Morris County prosecutor’s office said that there were multiple fatalities in the crash but it declined to say how many or reveal the victims’ identities before their families are notified.

The wrecked school bus in New Jersey (Chrissy Oleszek via AP)
The wrecked school bus in New Jersey (Chrissy Oleszek via AP)

“It’s a horrific scene,” Mount Olive Mayor Rob Greenbaum said.

“Our hearts are broken by today’s tragedy,” Democratic New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy said.

Emergency personnel at the scene (Ed Murray/NJ Advance Media via AP)
Emergency personnel at the scene (Ed Murray/NJ Advance Media via AP)

Students on two other buses on the field trip returned to the school about 50 miles from the crash site and were reunited with their parents, said Paramus police commissioner Holly Tedesco.

Zainab Qureshi, 11, said she was on one of the two buses not involved in the crash. She said those two buses made it to Waterloo Village, but they were told by teachers that they had to return to school because of bad weather.

School Bus Dump Truck Crash
A dump truck sits near the scene after a collision with a school bus (Jay Faltings/AP)

Mendez Trucking has about 40 drivers and trucks, according to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. Its trucks have been in seven crashes in the last two years, none of them fatal, according to the FMCSA.

Mendez was fined in 2016 for violating regulations on inspections, repairs and maintenance and post-crash drug and alcohol testing, according to the FMCSA.

“From what I saw, the red truck was destroyed, but the bus appeared worse,” Manuel Absalon, a tourist from Mexico driving by the crash site, told WNBC-TV. “It looked like it was broken in half.”

Waterloo Village is a historic site depicting a Lenape Indian community and once-thriving port along the Morris Canal in north-western New Jersey. It features several historic homes, a blacksmith shop, general store and more.

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