A school bus and dump truck collided on a New Jersey highway Thursday, ripping apart the bus, knocking it on its side and injuring multiple people, according to police.

Several injured in "horrific" school bus crash in New Jersey (Reuters/Inform)

MOUNT OLIVE, N.J. — A school bus and dump truck collided on a New Jersey highway Thursday, ripping apart the bus, knocking it on its side and injuring multiple people, according to police.

The school bus was on the median of Interstate 80 in Mount Olive and the front end of the bus appeared to be crushed or ripped off. It was also sheared off its undercarriage and a piece of the front end of the bus with the steering wheel visible was lying on top of the guardrail separating the highway from the median.

A red dump truck with a mangled front end was parked along the highway nearby, about 50 miles (80 kilometers) west of New York.

The school bus had markings for the Paramus School District. A fifth-grade class trip from the district was scheduled for Waterloo Village, a historic site about 5 miles away from the crash scene. A school district official said its superintendent was preparing a statement.

“There’s an incredible emergency response from throughout Morris County and by state police. It’s a horrific scene,” Mount Olive Mayor Rob Greenbaum told The Record.

State police said that an unknown number of children were on the bus, but they didn’t know how serious the injuries are. Hackettstown Police Sgt. Darren Tynan told The Record that multiple people were taken to a hospital.

A sign outside of the East Brook Middle School in Paramus, about 50 miles (80 kilometers) from the crash site, informed people to go to the auditorium for updates on the accident.

Gisela Aultmon, transportation coordinator for the district, said she was busy fielding calls from parents and could not answer questions from reporters.

The National Transportation Safety Board is gathering information on the crash, a spokesman said.

At least two canine units were searching the woods along the roadside Thursday afternoon, but it wasn’t clear why.

Morristown Medical Center spokeswoman Elaine Andrecovich said they have received some people from the accident, but she did not have a number available and could not say how many were children.

About 10 victims were taken to St. Clare’s Dover Hospital and St. Clare’s Denville Hospital, according to Communications Director Patty Montgomery. She said they were being evaluated and treated, but she did not have ages or conditions.

St. Joseph’s Health public relations manager Pam Garretson said two children were being evaluated in the emergency room. She did not know their conditions or ages.

Waterloo Village is a historic site depicting a Lenape Indian community and once-thriving port along the Morris Canal in northwestern New Jersey. It features several historic homes, a blacksmith shop, general store and more. It’s a popular spot for school trips.

Associated Press writers Shawn Marsh, in Trenton, and Jeff McMillan, in Philadelphia, contributed to this story.</s>MOUNT OLIVE, N.J. (AP) — A school bus and dump truck collided on a New Jersey highway Thursday, ripping apart the bus, knocking it on its side and injuring multiple people, according to police.

The school bus was on the median of Interstate 80 in Mount Olive and the front end of the bus appeared to be crushed or ripped off. It was also sheared off its undercarriage and a piece of the front end of the bus with the steering wheel visible was lying on top of the guardrail separating the highway from the median.

A red dump truck with a mangled front end was parked along the highway nearby, about 50 miles (80 kilometers) west of New York.

The school bus had markings for the Paramus School District. A fifth-grade class trip from the district was scheduled for Waterloo Village, a historic site about 5 miles away from the crash scene. A school district official said its superintendent was preparing a statement.

“There’s an incredible emergency response from throughout Morris County and by state police. It’s a horrific scene,” Mount Olive Mayor Rob Greenbaum told The Record.

State police said that an unknown number of children were on the bus, but they didn’t know how serious the injuries are. Hackettstown Police Sgt. Darren Tynan told The Record that multiple people were taken to a hospital.

A sign outside of the East Brook Middle School in Paramus, about 50 miles (80 kilometers) from the crash site, informed people to go to the auditorium for updates on the accident.

Gisela Aultmon, transportation coordinator for the district, said she was busy fielding calls from parents and could not answer questions from reporters.

The National Transportation Safety Board is gathering information on the crash, a spokesman said.

At least two canine units were searching the woods along the roadside Thursday afternoon, but it wasn’t clear why.

Morristown Medical Center spokeswoman Elaine Andrecovich said they have received some people from the accident, but she did not have a number available and could not say how many were children.

About 10 victims were taken to St. Clare’s Dover Hospital and St. Clare’s Denville Hospital, according to Communications Director Patty Montgomery. She said they were being evaluated and treated, but she did not have ages or conditions.

St. Joseph’s Health public relations manager Pam Garretson said two children were being evaluated in the emergency room. She did not know their conditions or ages.

Waterloo Village is a historic site depicting a Lenape Indian community and once-thriving port along the Morris Canal in northwestern New Jersey. It features several historic homes, a blacksmith shop, general store and more. It’s a popular spot for school trips.</s>(Reuters) - Two people died and 43 were injured when a school bus filled with fifth-graders collided with a dump truck on a major highway in New Jersey on Thursday, the state’s governor said.

The crash, which occurred about 10:20 a.m., occurred in Mount Olive Township in northern New Jersey’s Morris County, Governor Phil Murphy told a news conference. The bus was carrying 38 students and seven adults, including the driver.

“Some patients are in critical condition and currently undergoing surgery, so please keep everybody in your prayers,” said Murphy, adding that one student and one adult had died.

“There is an awful lot we just don’t know,” the governor added.

Citing unnamed sources, New York NBC affiliate News 4 reported that a student and an adult chaperone died. NorthJersey.com said the adult killed was a teacher at East Brook Middle School in Paramus.

The injured were being treated at hospitals, Paramus Public Schools said on Facebook

Images posted on social media showed the remnants of a yellow school bus on its side in the grassy median strip dividing the east and westbound lanes of busy Interstate 80. The front engine compartment of the bus appeared to have been sheared off, and the body of the bus was separated from the chassis, which remained on the highway.

The crash shut all westbound lanes of I-80, State Police said.

The fifth-graders had been on a class trip to Waterloo Village, a restored 19th-century village in neighboring Sussex County, according to Paramus Council President Holly Tedesco, who spoke at an earlier news conference.

Two other buses also carrying fifth-graders from the school safely returned to the school, she said.

The National Transportation Safety Board, which investigates accidents involving buses, was gathering information on the crash, the agency said on Twitter.

Paramus is about 10 miles west of Upper Manhattan. Mount Olive is about 40 miles west of Paramus.</s>A school bus and dump truck collided on a New Jersey highway Thursday, ripping apart the bus, knocking it on its side and injuring multiple people, according to police.

The school bus was on the median of Interstate 80 in Mount Olive and the front end of the bus appeared to be crushed or ripped off. It was also sheared off its undercarriage and a piece of the front end of the bus with the steering wheel visible was laying on top of the metal barrier separation the highway from the median.

A red dump truck with a mangled front end was parked along the highway nearby.

The school bus had markings for the Paramus School District. A fifth grade class trip from the district was scheduled for Waterloo Village, a historic site about 5 miles away from the crash scene. A school district official said its superintendent was preparing a statement.

State police said that an unknown number of children were on the bus, but they don't know how serious the injuries are. It wasn't immediately known how many people were on the bus or in the truck.

Hackettstown Police Sgt. Darren Tynan told The Record that multiple people were taken to a hospital after the accident about 50 miles (80 kilometers) west of New York.

"There's an incredible emergency response from throughout Morris County and by State Police. It's a horrific scene," Mount Olive Mayor Rob Greenbaum told The Record.

Morristown Medical Center spokeswoman Elaine Andrecovich said they have received some people from the accident, but she did not have a number available and could not say how many were children.

About 10 victims were taken to St. Clare's Dover Hospital and St. Clare's Denville Hospital, according to Communications Director Patty Montgomery. She said they're being evaluated and treated, but she does not have ages or conditions.</s>One student and one teacher are dead and 43 injured after a school bus carrying middle school students collided with a dump truck in New Jersey on the I-80.</s>Emergency vehicles are seen following a crash in Mount Olive Township, New Jersey Thomson Reuters (Reuters) - Multiple people were injured when a school bus collided with a dump truck on a highway in New Jersey on Thursday, police said.

"There are serious injuries, but as far as how many, I don't have a number," said Alejandro Goez, a trooper with the New Jersey State Police, who are investigating the cause and circumstances of the crash.

Citing unnamed sources, New York NBC-affiliate News 4 reported that at least two people, one student and one adult chaperone, have died.

The bus was carrying middle school students from Paramus, USA TODAY Network reported.

The crash, in Mount Olive Township in Morris County, shut all westbound lanes of I-80 and was "serious," New Jersey State Police said.

The National Transportation Safety Board is gathering information on the crash, the agency said on Twitter.</s>Multiple injuries were reported after a school bus and dump truck collided Thursday on an interstate in New Jersey.

The crash happened on Interstate 80 in Mount Olive, located about 50 miles west of New York City.

New Jersey State Police tweeted the law enforcement agency was investigating a "serious" motor vehicle accident involving a school bus and dump truck.

"All lanes shut down. No further information available at this time," police said.

Multiple ambulances were responding to the scene, according to FOX5. It is unclear how many students were aboard the bus or the number of vehicles involved in the collision.

Photos posted to social media show the bus on its side in the median of the roadway.

Hackettstown Medical Center told News 12 New Jersey they are receiving 10 patients from the crash.</s>One child and one adult were killed Thursday when a school bus collided with a dump truck and flipped over in Mount Olive Township in Morris County, New Jersey, Gov. Phil Murphy said. More than 40 people were injured.

Multiple people were injured Thursday when a school bus collided with a dump truck and flipped over in Mount Olive Township in Morris County, New Jersey, officials said.

Mount Olive Mayor Rob Greenbaum, who saw the aftermath of the highway crash from an overpass, described the scene as "horrific." He told HLN Thursday there were possible ejections in the crash.

A dump truck collided with a school bus in Mount Olive Township, New Jersey, on Thursday. At least three hospitals have received patients from the accident, including two believed to be children, officials said. The bus was transporting students from East Brook Middle School in Paramus, New Jersey, according to a school official. "Our hearts are broken by today's tragedy," Gov. Phil Murphy said in a Facebook post after arriving at the school. Jay Faltings, who drove past the scene about five minutes after the crash, told HLN he saw children being rescued from the wreckage. Faltings said the front of the dump truck appeared to have been sheared off and the school bus was "ripped off its frame" after hitting a guard rail and flipping over. "It's like nothing you've ever seen before," he said. Emergency personnel work at the scene of a school bus and dump truck collision on Interstate 80 in Mount Olive Townshipt, New Jersey. Faltings said first responders appeared to have removed the children from the scene. "They were young kids," he said. "But luckily, first responders, everybody there helped get all the kids out safely from what we could see... The kids were obviously freaked out." Emergency personnel work at the scene of a school bus and dump truck collision on Interstate 80 in Mount Olive Township, New Jersey. The National Transportation Safety Board said via Twitter that it was "gathering information" on the crash. All lanes of Interstate 80 have been shut down. Mount Olive Township is about 50 miles west of New York City.</s>School bus crash on Route 80 in Mount Olive on May 17, 2018.

MOUNT OLIVE TOWNSHIP, N.J. — The crash of a dump truck and school bus taking middle school students on a field trip claimed at least two lives Thursday and sent 43 people to area hospitals.

One student and one teacher were killed, Bergen County Executive James Tedesco said during an emotional press conference in Paramus, N.J., where the trip originated. The bus, carrying fifth-graders from East Brook Middle School, was ripped from its chassis in the accident along Interstate 80 near the Waterloo Village exit.

This is the second year the school district has had a field trip to Waterloo Village, a restored 19th century canal town that is about a 45-mile trip west of Paramus.

The school bus was holding 38 students and seven adults when it crashed, New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy said. Some of the 43 were rushed to hospitals and still are undergoing surgery; others are in critical condition.

► May 14: 27 died in bus crash 30 years ago. Survivors cope with horrific memories

 ► May 11: Humboldt Broncos hockey team plans return next season after bus crash

 ► April 9: 'Could have been tragic': Dozens injured after overpass rips roof off bus

One student on the bus, Theo Ancevski, 11, said he heard classmates screaming as the bus toppled. Then he and others scrambled out an emergency exit on the top of the bus while others climbed out the windows.

Theo said he first heard a sound at the back of the bus — “something with one of the trucks behind us got hit as we toppled over.” Afterward, some students “were, like, hanging from their seat belts.”

In an interview outside of Morristown Medical Center, his father, Pavle Ancevski, said his son and other students he saw at the hospital were not badly hurt.

“We’re thankful to God,” he said. “I hope the other kids are OK. We have no information about them.”

Murphy arrived at the scene just before 2 p.m. ET then headed to the school.

"Our hearts are broken by today’s tragedy," he tweeted.

The bus was among a group of three transporting East Brook Middle School students to Waterloo Village, according to a note sent to parents from school Principal Thomas J. LoBue. The other two buses were not involved in the crash.

► March 31: Students hospitalized, driver killed as bus plunges down ravine

 ► Feb. 28: Inspection records altered week after Iowa school bus caught fire, killing 2

Police were first notified about the crash at about 10:20 a.m. The National Transportation Safety Board said it was not investigating the crash.

Those injured were transported to six hospitals, the governor said: 21 to Morristown Medical Center, 10 to Hackettstown Medical Center, three to St. Clare's hospital in Dover, four to St. Clare's in Denville, three to University Hospital Newark and two to St. Joseph's Regional Medical Center in Paterson.

“This is a devastation right now for our community,” said Holly Tedesco-Santos, the Paramus council president. The school district is offering crisis counseling and the remaining field trips for this school year have been canceled.

At the scene, the front cab of the school bus appeared to be obliterated and separated from the rest of the bus. The undercarriage, chassis and tires also were separated from the body of the bus, which was on its side.

The bus leaned against a crushed metal guardrail with the front cab torn and twisted away. The steering wheel could be seen sticking above the wreckage.

Clothing and other personal belongings were strewn on the grassy median around the wreckage. At about 12:30 p.m., state police brought in K-9s to search the woods and areas near the scene.

A red dump truck believed to have been involved in the accident was stopped in the eastbound far left lane of I-80. The words "In God We Trust" were on the back of the truck.

All school buses used in New Jersey must have lap-type seat belts or other child restraint systems, according to the state Department of Education. Teams from the New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission also inspect school buses at least twice each year.

The standards for school bus drivers include alcohol and drug testing upon initial employment followed by random tests. Drivers must have a physical examination every two years, a criminal background check upon initial employment and at the time of renewal of their commercial license, and each year submit a history of motor vehicle violations.

► March 2017: Texas church bus crash death toll rises to 13

 ► December 2016: Chattanooga bus driver speeding in fatal crash, officer says

Two buses made it to Waterloo Village, said Zainab Qureshi, 11, one of the fifth-grade students not on the wrecked bus. But about 30 minutes later, chaperones and teachers told students they were turning around and returning to school because of bad weather.

All students boarded the buses and were on the way back to their school when students began to realize the third bus was missing, she said. Students did not find out about the accident until they were back at school because they were instructed to leave their cellphones in their lockers at school.

Zainab's mother, Shabnum Qureshi, said she was scared that her daughter might have been injured because she had no way of reaching Zainab.

“This is something you hope never happens in your hometown,” said Angela Miaoalis, a parent picking her child up at the school.

Her son James Miaoalis, an eighth-grader, said he and classmates were in a state of confusion waiting to hear about friends.

“We’re just waiting to hear from everyone we know,” his mom said.

Contributing: Peggy Wright, Katie Sobko, The (Bergen County, N.J.) Record; The Associated Press</s>MOUNT OLIVE, N.J. — A school bus taking children on a field trip to a New Jersey historic site collided with a dump truck Thursday, ripping the bus apart, knocking it on its side and injuring multiple people.

The front end of the school bus appeared to be ripped off as it sat on the median of Interstate 80 in Mount Olive. It was also sheared off its undercarriage and a piece of the front end of the bus with the steering wheel visible was lying on top of the guardrail separating the highway from the median.

A red dump truck with a mangled front end was parked along the highway nearby, about 50 miles west of New York. The truck was registered to Mendez Trucking, of Belleville, and had “In God We Trust” emblazoned on the back of it.

“Our hearts are broken by today’s tragedy,” Democratic New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy said in a tweet.

Paramus Public Schools said that the bus was taking students from East Brook Middle School to Waterloo Village, which is about five miles from the crash scene. Students on two other buses on the field trip returned to the school Thursday morning and were reunited with their parents, said Paramus police Commissioner Holly Tedesco.

A sign outside of the school, about 50 miles from the crash site, informed people to go to the auditorium for updates on the accident and the school was offering crisis counseling.

State police said that an unknown number of children were on the bus, but they didn’t know how serious the injuries are. Hackettstown Police Sgt. Darren Tynan told The Record that multiple people were taken to a hospital.

Seventh-grader Alejandro Garcia told The Record that students were told to return to homeroom on Thursday morning. As his classmates started searching online to see what had happened, they realized there had been an accident.

“People who I’m close friends with, who have brothers and sisters on that bus, started crying, and everybody just started sympathizing,” Garcia said. “It was just a time of need for everyone.”

 At least two canine units were searching the woods along the roadside Thursday afternoon, but it wasn’t clear why.

Mendez Trucking has 33 drivers and 33 trucks, according to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. A message left with the company wasn’t immediately returned. Its trucks have been in seven crashes in the last two years, none of them fatal, according to FMCSA.

Mendez was fined $22,850 in 2016 for violating regulations on inspections, repairs and maintenance and post-crash drug and alcohol testing, according to the FMCSA.

Mendez has a higher than average vehicle out-of-service rate, which means inspections found violations which had to be corrected before the vehicle could be returned to service. Mendez’s rate was 37.9 percent, according to FMCSA. The national average is 20.7.

“From what I saw, the red truck was destroyed, but the bus appeared worse,” Manuel Absalon, a tourist from Mexico driving by the crash site, told WNBC-TV. “It looked like it was broken in half.”

Morristown Medical Center spokeswoman Elaine Andrecovich said they have received some people from the accident, but she did not have a number available and could not say how many were children.

About 10 victims were taken to St. Clare’s Dover Hospital and St. Clare’s Denville Hospital, according to Communications Director Patty Montgomery. She said they were being evaluated and treated, but she did not have ages or conditions.

St. Joseph’s Health public relations manager Pam Garretson said two children were being evaluated in the emergency room. She did not know their conditions or ages.

Waterloo Village is a historic site depicting a Lenape Indian community and once-thriving port along the Morris Canal in northwestern New Jersey. It features several historic homes, a blacksmith shop, general store and more. It’s a popular spot for school trips.

Associated Press writers Shawn Marsh, in Trenton, and Jeff McMillan and Michael R. Sisak, in Philadelphia, contributed to this story.
A school bus and a dump truck collide on Interstate 80 in Mount Olive Township, New Jersey, U.S., killing two people and injuring 43.