FRIGHTENING VIDEO: Child exiting school bus struck by vehicle in Lakewood

A child is lucky to be alive after being struck by a vehicle while exiting a school bus in Lakewood.

The accident occurred Friday afternoon in the Coventry Square neighborhood.

Surveillance video given to TLS shows the 5-year-old child crossing the street after getting off the school bus and struck by a passing vehicle.

The child was transported to JSUMC and was in stable condition. He is expected to make a full recovery.

Police are investigating the incident.

The video is posted for awareness purposes.

(VIEWER DISCRETION ADVISED)

 

This content, and any other content on TLS, may not be republished or reproduced without prior permission from TLS. Copying or reproducing our content is both against the law and against Halacha. To inquire about using our content, including videos or photos, email us at [email protected].

Stay up to date with our news alerts by following us on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.

**Click here to join over 20,000 receiving our Whatsapp Status updates!**

**Click here to join the official TLS WhatsApp Community!**

Got a news tip? Email us at [email protected], Text 415-857-2667, or WhatsApp 609-661-8668.

22 COMMENTS

  1. Hoping this little boy is ok and makes a full recovery! This is why I always drive slowly in Lakewood! I’ll go 5-8 miles under the speed limit. Too many people are getting hurt trying to get where they need to be quickly! Take your time! Arrive alive!

  2. Yes . This is absolutely the drivers fault for not adhering to a bus’ stop sign . That being said – it is absolutely unsafe for bus drivers to drop children off on the opposite side of the street – expecting them to make it across safely . We don’t usually let young children cross busy streets themselves . A stick and a stop sign from a bus is not called adult supervision. The bus company should change the route so all children get dropped off on the correct side of the street. A shorter bus route is not worth risking a child’s life !

    • Unfourtunately, the BOE has made more and more streets “crossable” including MLK and Central Ave. They save time and money while putting our children at risk. I have as yet been unsuccessful at fighting “city hall”

  3. Definitely the car drivers fault. However, at intersections it’s hard to see the stop sign. Bus drivers need to block the whole or part of the intersection in the future.

  4. These bus routes are awarded by a bid process. Unless it is requested in the bid nothing will change. Since they are only able to give the best price based on the shortest route.

  5. I hope that child makes a full recovery. With that being said
    the parent of this 5 yr. old child should wait on other side of street and then cross with child safety. A bus driver tries to let the kids off safely but can’t help if a driver doesn’t stop. If you know that your childs stop is going to make them cross street then you as a parent should wait on side were child gets off bus.

  6. My boys from primary and up have to cross pine street. I watch cars blow through the bus lights all the time. When I complained to the lsta they said pine street is safe to cross! As an adult I can barely cross it!!

  7. To comment number 1: while it’s commendable of you to drive a bit under the speed limit, that’s what causes tailgating and possibly road rage. This practice of yours might serve you well with the presence of school buses when frequent stops have to be made to discharge children but please rethink your driving speed applications. Kol Tuv.

  8. They should also mandate having a bus monitor, or one of the teachers going home with the kids on the bus, which will not only supervise the kids on the bus, to make sure they keep sitting & in case there are quarrels etc, but also to cross the kid over the street at each stop thats on the other side of the ride as in this case. I live in Monsey & most schools have such a bus monitor on the bus doing that.

  9. A long time bus driver in Lakewood told me years ago that there’s a simple solution that would have prevented this but isn’t legal. He said whenever he can he does it anyway. He just pulls the bus diagonally across the whole road. If that can be made a standard policy then almost any 2 lane road can be safe even if it’s usually busy.

  10. A few years ago when my son was in 6th grade we were living off of prospect st.
    The driver didn’t want to turn into our development (I know they are hard to navigate) so she would make my son cross over prospect st to get on the bus (where there isn’t even a corner or shoulder to stand on!). His school was on cross st. so this saved her a lot of time. He was also the last stop. One day (I happened to have been waiting with him) a driver blew past the bus & hit my son’s backpack as he was crossing!!! I ran after the driver (who happened to be pulling into a side street) & yelled at her!! She didn’t even realize what she had done! When I called the bus company they told me it’s illegal to angle the bus & that prospect st. is a legal place to cross over. Maybe in 1999 it was but not such a calm road since 2014… I didn’t hang up until they told me they would make the driver turn into my development.
    Well…the driver was hopping mad. She punished my son! She changed his bus stop to be the first (an hour earlier then he was used to) so she was facing the right way when she picked him up. Thus changing the whole route (the boys on the bus told my son that the route was changed, as he used to be the last stop he would’ve never even known the route) ‘cuz she still refused to go into my neighborhood. BH it was towards the end of the year so he didn’t endure too much problems.

  11. My son was hit several years ago bc the driver didn’t pull into the intersection. I’ve watched many children getting off the bus and miraculously avoided being hit by cars. So often busses or cars will be extremely careless. I’m grateful for this awareness.

  12. Mom Who Faught- that sounds like a very good solution from the bus company. You don’t get to choose where you are on the route. Instead of complaining you could have 1. Crossed your kid every day 2. Brought him to school every day in your own car. 3. Been happy that he was being picked up on the right side of the street. Sorry he needed to leave earlier but someone needs to be the first stop and this was their solution for you. We can’t dictate exactly how they make a change- if picking him up early will get him in the bus safely, it’s not for you to say that she should turn into the development. You sound very entitled. As an aside. I live where there is no busing. I have carpools and do my days to schools 25 minutes from my house. Again, your attitude sounds very entiteled

  13. I’m now a bus driver in Lakewood and I was a bus driver in Boro Park.

    Lakewood is definitely better when it comes to stop for the red flashers but I do I have at least once a day someone passing the red stop sign.

    The only solution is to make the bus diagonally like they do in Boro Park, in Lakewood it’s illegal! They give you a ticket for trying to save lives, and in Boro Park they never give a ticket for that it saves lives every day.

  14. I am a bus driver in Lakewood and until you are in our position, please don’t judge us. For everyone’s information when the lights are flashing and the stop sign is out it is very clear if the car driver is looking ahead. I have had many times drivers go past the stop sign on wide and narrow streets. It was an accident waiting to happen. Please slow down and show you care about these precious children

Comments are closed.