Miranda Faith Vargas ID'd As Student Victim Of Paramus Bus Crash

PARAMUS, NJ — A 10-year-old fifth-grader with a "contagious" smile was the other person killed in a horrific school bus crash on Interstate 80 Thursday, Morris County Prosecutor Frederic M. Knapp confirmed.

Miranda Faith Vargas, who has twin sister, died as a result of injuries sustained during the crash.

Knapp only confirmed that a 10-year-old had died. He did not give her name.

A GoFundMe page was set up by Lorena and Tony Vargas, Vargas's aunt, NorthJersey.com reported. The elder Vargas identified on the page that Miranda was killed in the crash. She did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

"She was a beautiful, gentle soul with a passionate love for her family," Lorena Vargas stated. "Her smile was contagious and that is how we will forever remember her."

The page had a goal of $20,000. As of Sunday morning, more than $78,000 was donated. The money will be used to pay for Miranda Vargas' funeral.

Vargas is survived by her parents Joevanny and Lorena Vargas, twin sister, grandparents, aunts and uncles, and cousins, her obituary and the GoFundMe page state.

Visitation with the family will be held at Moracco Memorial Chapel on Colfax Avenue in Clifton from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. Sunday. A funeral service will be held Monday at 9:30 a.m.

Paramus Mayor Richard LaBarbiera posted on Facebook that a memorial service will be held at 7:30 p.m. Sunday at Our Lady Visitation at 234 N. Farview Ave in Paramus.

East Brook teacher Jennifer Williamson-Kennedy, 51, was the lone adult killed in the crash, Knapp's office confirmed. Forty-three other people, and the dump truck driver, sustained injuries "of varying severity" as a result of the crash, Knapp said.

No further information regarding these victims' identities was released.

Gov. Phil Murphy ordered that the U.S. and New Jersey flags be flown at half-staff at all state buildings and facilities on Monday in honor of the crash victims.

The school bus was taking fifth-graders to the historic Waterloo Village in Stanhope for an end-of-the-year field trip. It was one of three traveling in a caravan, officials said, but was the only one involved in the crash.

Police said the crash involved a dump truck and happened near Exit 25 in Mount Olive around 10:20 a.m. New revelations indicate the driver may have attempted an illegal u-turn in an effort to get to Waterloo Village, the field trip's planned destination.

Williamson was a 20-year Paramus teaching veteran, Murphy said. Her husband, Kevin Kennedy, said in a statement that he and his wife were "in total love every day of our lives since the day our eyes first met" in 1994.

"I am in shock, devastated, and totally crushed by today's tragedy to both sides of the Williamson-Kennedy families, the community she taught and the thousands of students and their families she was very proud to serve," Kennedy told NJ.com.

Services for Williamson-Kennedy are next week.

Students who were on the bus spoke of the horrific ordeal Thursday afternoon.

"I heard a scraping sound and we toppled over onto the highway," fifth-grader Theo Ancevski told the Daily Record. "A lot of people were screaming and they were hanging from their seat belts."

The East Brook and greater Paramus community have expressed their support of the school by donating to a GoFundMe campaign set up for the school and on social media with the hashtag #ParamusStrong.

Related:

• Was School Bus Trying To Make Illegal U-Turn Before Rt. 80 Crash?
• Husband Of Paramus Teacher Killed In Bus Crash Issues Statement
• GoFundMe Campaign Launched To Help East Brook Middle School
• Memorial Created At East Brook Middle School Following Deaths
• Paramus Community Mourns Dedicated Teacher Killed In Crash
• Teacher, Student Confirmed Dead In Paramus Field Trip Bus Crash
• Paramus Student Recounts Chaotic Bus Crash Scene
• Community Starts #ParamusStrong Hashtag In Wake Of Fatal Crash
• Paramus District Cancels Trips Following Fatal Crash

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Photo: Miranda Faith Vargas, 10 (Courtesy of GoFundMe, a promotional partner of Patch)