Charter Bus to Brooklyn Runs Off NJ Hwy, Killing 1

A charter bus carrying 45 people was struck in a multi-vehicle accident that killed a driver on an interstate in northern New Jersey.

State police say the driver of a Honda Civic — tentatively identified as a 37-year-old Bethlehem, Pa. man — was heading the wrong way on Interstate 78 early Sunday when it hit an SUV around 5:35 a.m., then spun into the bus. He was pronounced dead a short time later, said Sgt. Stephen Jones, a state police spokesman.

It's not clear why the driver was traveling in the wrong direction, Jones said.

Neither the SUV driver nor their passenger were hurt.

The bus driver, 72-year-old Richard Roach of New Kensington, Pa., was briefly trapped and sustained a broken ankle. About a dozen passengers reported minor injuries.

The bus, owned by Roenigk Coach Co. of Sarver, Pa., was headed from Pittsburgh to Brooklyn.