School Bus Driver Dies After Accident In Hudson Valley

WARWICK, NY — A school bus driver died after an accident Friday in Orange County. State police said Denise Schmidt, 53, of Warwick, was driving a bus owned by the Warwick Central School District Friday shortly before 8 p.m.

Troopers who investigated the incident said Schmidt had a medical episode and slumped over the steering wheel as the bus was accelerating up a ramp at Exit 28 to merge onto I-84.

The bus traveled off the shoulder of the roadway and down into a small grassy ravine, striking a tree and causing damage to the front right side of the bus.

When troopers got there, they found female students outside of the bus and an adult man and a female student performing CPR on Schmidt.

Montgomery First Aid arrived and continued resuscitation efforts.

Schmidt was taken to Orange Medical Center. She was pronounced dead Sunday.

Police said there were 22 students on the bus, ranging in age from 15 to 17, and the tennis coach. None of the students were injured, police said.

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