Bad Morning For Newark School Buses: Hit-And-Run, Vehicle Fire

NEWARK, NJ — School buses are usually the safest way for students to travel, many industry experts say. But Tuesday morning in Newark turned out to be an exception.

Within the space of 10 minutes, the city saw two school bus-related safety incidents take place: a vehicle fire and a hit-and-run accident, the Newark Department of Public Safety stated.

The first incident took place around 7:53 a.m., when a school bus driver with three elementary students from Camden Street School aboard began to smell smoke while driving near Mt. Prospect and Elwood Avenue East.

Authorities said that after smelling smoke, the driver pulled the bus over and removed the children from the vehicle. Newark firefighters soon arrived on the scene and extinguished a fire on the bus.

The driver sustained a knee injury during the encounter, but no other injuries were reported, police said.

The exact cause of the fire is being investigated by the arson unit of the Newark Fire Division, authorities said.

HIT-AND-RUN

Shortly after 8 a.m., the city saw another school bus-related incident involving a hit-and-run near the 900 block of Franklin Avenue, according to authorities.

Police said that a vehicle struck a bus carrying 29 Park Elementary School students, then fled the scene. Nobody suffered significant injuries during the crash.

Authorities are conducting an investigation into the incident.

Keep updated with local public safety alerts at the Patch Newark Facebook page.

Send local news tips, photos and press releases to eric.kiefer@patch.com

File Photo: Flickr Commons