Teacher, Student Confirmed Dead In Paramus Field Trip Bus Crash

PARAMUS, NJ — A teacher and a student were killed as a result of the fatal bus crash involving East Brook Middle School fifth-graders and teachers on Interstate 80, said Bergen County Executive James Tedesco.

Authorities were notified of the bus crash at about 10:20 a.m. in Mount Olive, Knapp said. The crash involved a school bus and a dump truck.

The three buses of students were on their way to Waterloo Village when the crash occurred in Mount Olive, Paramus school officials confirmed in a statement Thursday afternoon.

Students are being treated at Morristown Medical Center, St. Joseph’s Hospital, and Hackettstown Medical Center, officials said.

Parents were directed to go to East Brook following the crash where an incident command center has been set up, said Darryl Demott, a spokesperson with the Paramus Office of Emergency Management. More information would be released to parents there.

Paramus Police confirmed that fifth-graders were on the buses. The other two buses have returned to East Brook. Those students were released to their parents.

East Brook sixth-, seventh-, and eighth-graders were being dismissed at about 1:30 p.m. police said in a Nixle alert. Paramus schools will be open Friday, Tedesco said.

Paramus Council President Holly Tedesco said at a press briefing that the crash was "a devastation for our community," and that grief counselors were available to speak with East Brook students Thursday.

ABC7 is reporting that State Troopers are using cadaver dogs to search nearby woods for victims who may have been ejected from the bus.

Governor Phil Murphy is at East Brook. He said in a tweet, that "Our hearts are broken by today’s tragedy."

The crash happened around 10:30 a.m. near Exit 25 in the westbound lanes in Mount Olive. State Police said in a tweet that the crash involved a dump truck, and that the crash is "serious."

Alejandro Garcia, a seventh-grader at East Brook, described the scene inside the school following the crash.

"People started crying. People who I'm close friends with, who have brothers and sisters on that bus, starting crying," Garcia told NorthJersey.com. "It was time of need for everyone."

Multiple ambulances have been called to the scene. Morristown Medical Center is receiving students with injuries, a spokesperson confirmed. No additional details were released.

The Mount Olive Police Department said that family members of those involved in the crash should contact the Paramus Police Department at 201-262-3400 for more information.

Ridgewood Schools Superintendent Daniel Fishbein expressed his support for Paramus on Twitter Thursday afternoon.

"Thoughts and prayers go out to the Paramus School District," Fishbein stated.

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With reporting by Katie Kausch, Patch staff

This is a breaking story, check back for updates.

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Image: Emergency personnel work at the scene of a fatal Paramus school bus crash on Interstate 80 in Mount Olive Thursday morning. (By Avi Gibli, used with permission)