Seven Children Injured when School Bus Hits Trees, House in Ramapo, NY
Ramapo, NY — December 1, 2022, several students were injured when a school bus crashed into cars and a house in Rockland County.
Authorities say the incident happened around 9:00 a.m. in New Hempstead, a village in Ramapo. Preliminary investigation suggests a bus carrying 21 children to a local private school was traveling on an area road when it went out of control for unknown reasons. The bus left the road, glanced off a telephone pole, then hit a tree and two unoccupied cars. It ran down a nearby hill and hit several more trees before it finally crashed into the side of a house.
The bus driver and seven students were taken to an area hospital. Two 5-year-old boys received serious but non-life-threatening injuries; the other victims were reportedly treated for minor injuries.
No further information is available at this time.
Commentary on School Bus Accident in Ramapo
Investigators reportedly assessed the bus driver at the hospital and found no signs of impairment. Clearly that's a relief, but ruling out one concerning possibility doesn't mean that the true cause of the wreck has been identified. Hopefully authorities are assessing other potential explanations--including other driver errors like distraction or fatigue, maybe, but also looking at issues with road quality and design or even mechanical problems in the bus itself. I think most would agree that whatever sent seven children to the hospital should be identified and if possible fixed. Moreover, if the causal factor(s) can be traced back to someone not doing their job properly then that party should be held accountable.
To be clear, I'm not saying I know more than reports offer about what happened in Ramapo--nor am I pointing fingers at anyone. I only mean that the people affected deserve clear answers about what happened and what will be done to keep it from happening again. Will police efforts alone be enough to get those answers?
