8 Students Hurt In School Bus Accident, Driver Charged: TRPD

TOMS RIVER, NJ — Eight students suffered minor injuries Monday when a Lacey Township school bus rear-ended a parked school bus at the Ocean County Vocational Technical School in Toms River, police said.

The driver, Cheryl Rooth, 57, of Whiting, has been charged in the crash, which police allege was related to prescription medication, said Jillian Messina, media specialist for the Toms River Police Department.

Rooth had 28 students aboard Monday when she pulled into the OCVTS parking lot on Old Freehold Road about 7:30 a.m. to drop off students. As she pulled behind another bus, she did not stop in time and hit the unoccupied bus, Messina said. Of the eight students who were injured, three were juveniles, she said.

Rooth has been charged with driving while impaired, due to prescription medication, driving while impaired in a school zone, driving while impaired through a school crossing and driving while impaired with a minor in the vehicle, Messina said.

The accident remains under investigation by Toms River Traffic Safety officer Robert Westfall.

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