The driver of a school bus that hit a dump truck in New Jersey last week, killing a student and a teacher, had 16 traffic violations and had his driver’s license suspended 14 times in the past 40 years, a state official told CNN. 

At least eight of the traffic tickets were for speeding. The driver’s license suspensions date to December 2017 for unpaid parking tickets. the rest were for paperwork or administrative reasons.

The driver was a 77 year old man who had his driver license restored on Jan. 3, approximately four months before the accident on May 17 on I-80 in Olive Township NJ.

The man was driving 40 fifth graders and seven adults from Paramus to a field trip location when the crash occurred. Police are still investigating the cause. Dozens of people were hurt, including both the bus and truck driver.

According to the attorney for one of the children who was killed, the record of the bus driver raises many questions. He noted that if the bus driver’s record was this poor, it would raise questions about the judgement of the school board in Paramus to employ him as a bus driver. The law stated that his office had filed a personal injury lawsuit last week.

The bus driver’s record showed other earlier crashes in the state, but that does not necessarily mean he was at fault for this crash.

Our View

As Virginia and North Carolina personal injury attorneys, we understand that no dollar amount will be able to replace a loved one, such as in the above tragic bus crash. However, it is important for people to remember that the loss of a family member, especially a child, is emotionally devastating. It is important for the person and/or entity that is responsible for the crash to be held liable for what happened so the chances of this happening in the future are reduced.

When a child is killed in a preventable accident, it can lead to a sizable settlement. This is something that the family of the deceased in this terrible bus crash may be considering, according to the article. Again, the lawsuit will never bring back the person, but when a school district, for example, must pay out a large amount, it gets a great deal of press attention. Our personal injury attorneys hope this serves as a reminder for all bus drivers and school districts that safety is the top priority.