New Jersey

School Bus Crash Traps Kids Under Power Lines in New Jersey

Children were trapped inside; Chopper 4 showed them moving throughout the bus

What to Know

  • A school bus with children aboard veered off the road and into a utility pole, which came crashing down on top of it and trapping the kids
  • Eight students and one adult were on the bus when it crashed; they were all shaken up but OK
  • A cause of the accident is under investigation

A school bus somehow veered off the road and smashed into a utility pole in New Jersey Monday, trapping children under power lines, authorities say. 

Eight students, ages 8 to 11, and one adult were on the bus when it crashed near Long Hill Road and Meyersville Road in Long Hill around 8:30 a.m. Chopper 4 over the scene showed the full-sized bus partially in the woods, power lines down on top of it. 

Children were trapped inside; Chopper 4 showed them moving throughout the bus. The utility company shut down the power so the kids could get out safely. They were helped off the bus a short time later by firefighters and taken to their respective schools in Millington and Gillette. 

No injuries were reported, though multiple ambulances responded. The driver was taken to a hospital for evaluation, though she had no complaints of pain.

A Long Hill Township Schools spokesperson confirmed the basic details of the crash and said the children had been headed to school at the time. News 4 has left a message with the school bus operator.

Bob Centamore said his 11-year-old son Robert, one of eight children on board the bus, called him on his cellphone and said, "Dad, we just crashed."

Centamore said, "I calmed him down because he crying, and I said, 'Where are you? Is everyone OK?' And he told me where he was, and I headed over there." 

"When I arrived on the scene, I was taken aback," he said.

Centamore said his son was shaken up: "It was scary to him, but he's a good kid, he was very strong." 

County officials are looking into what caused the accident. Parents said the driver was new to the route and had only been driving it for two weeks. Some parents also noted the accient where it happened, Meyersville and Long Hill roads, is notoriously difficult even for people familiar with the area. 

Authorities initially said a second vehicle was involved in the crash, but later said it appeared to have only been the bus. 

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