Man Killed by Bus Identified as Montclair Student

The Essex County Prosecutor’s Office has identified the man who was killed by a NJ Transit bus yesterday as Deshon L. Johnson, a 22-year-old Essex County College student living in Montclair.  

A press release from the Prosecutor’s Office said, “The preliminary investigation indicates Johnson was rushing to catch the #709 bus to get to his job when he was struck and killed yesterday morning by a NJ Transit Bus in the vicinity of Broad Street and Bay.  He was pronounced dead at 10:54 a.m.

“No charges have been filed at this time. The investigation is ongoing.”  

A spokeswoman from NJ Transit, Nancy Snyder, contacted Patch on Thursday. 

“The driver of that bus was not a NJ Transit employee," she said. "He was employed by Community Transportation Company, also known as Community Coach.” 

Snyder said there are ten contract carriers operating 56 bus routes in NJ Transit buses displaying the NJ Transit logo and the chevron symbol. “We have many private companies that operate NJ Transit bus routes throughout the state.” 

Dan Carmicheal, a representative for Community Transportation, confirmed, “The driver is our driver, he is employed by Coach USA.  We’re responsible for whatever he does on the job.”

Carmicheal said the incident is currently under active investigation. 

“Tomorrow we’ll be in a better position to comment.  [The authorities] are trying to come up with the reason this happened. We know there were five passengers on the bus but we haven’t heard anything yet.”

Another spokesperson for Coach, Stephen Van Horn, said, “We’re cooperating fully with the police investigation.  Our thoughts and prayers are with the family.”

Though authorities have not yet released information on the young man’s death, some witnesses at the scene say the accident may have occurred because Johnson was chasing the bus as it was making a turn.

“The only information we were able to gather was that he was knocking on the windows of the back door of the bus,” said Bloomfield Mayor Raymond McCarthy.  “I guess the driver didn’t see him or hear him as he was making the turn.  He was making that big, wide turn at Broad and Bay.”

Martin O’Boyle, the owner of Brookside Garden Center at the intersection, agreed. 

“They say he was at the 7-Eleven and was running late to catch the bus.  I heard people say he was knocking on the door and trying to chase the bus down.”

Added O’Boyle, “I think it happened when the bus was rounding the corner,” noting that the bus stop for the #709 is on Broad Street and the accident occurred on Bay Avenue.

"It’s another one of those sad situations," said McCarthy. "It’s sad not only for the victim but for the driver.  It’s a traumatic experience."

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