Ramapo child struck, injured in third crash involving school bus this year
RAMAPO ‒ Another child was struck by a school bus within town. The young child suffered injuries but is expected to recover after the incident on Tuesday, March 26.
The same day, a young teen collided with a vehicle as she crossed the street. Ramapo police reported that she was not seriously injured.
Earlier this year, in two separate incidents, two children were killed when they were struck by school buses. In January, an 8-year-old was killed in New Square; in February, a 5-year-old was killed in Spring Valley. Both are villages within the town of Ramapo.
These child pedestrian crashes have taken place within the boundaries of the East Ramapo Central School District.
Complex busing system
East Ramapo has reported that its student transportation system is second only to New York City as far as size and complexity.
The district is home to some 40,000 school-age kids — about 10,000 attend public schools and 30,000 go to private schools, mostly yeshivas in the region. The district provides universal busing, meaning most kids can get a seat on a bus, even if they live close to their school.
The district contracts with dozens of operators, including private schools that own their own fleets and larger transportation vendors.
Meanwhile, the greater Spring Valley region that's covered by the district is densely populated, and roadways can be crowded at certain times a day.
East Ramapo schools Superintendent Clarence Ellis at a March 5 school board meeting called the two youngsters' death gut-wrenching.
East Ramapo's school board this fall voted to allow cameras, operated by vendor BusPatrol, on its buses in an effort to catch scofflaws who pass school buses. According to Rockland County officials, some but not all buses in East Ramapo have been fitted with cameras.
East Ramapo's transportation director left earlier this year; that department has been overseen by Superintendent for Business Natalie Espinal, who is scheduled to leave for a job in South Orangetown this summer.
Details of children hit by buses
On Tuesday, March 26, two children were hit by vehicles, one in the morning and one in the evening. Incidents included:
On Jan. 29, an 8-year-old boy was struck and killed by a school bus near the intersection of Clinton Lane and Stern Street in New Square. The child was walking home from school shortly before 6 p.m. when he was hit by the bus, according to Ramapo police. A police incident report, sought through a Freedom of Information Law request, has not yet been provided.
On Feb. 16, a 5-year-old girl was struck and killed by her school bus near the intersection of South Madison and West Funston avenues. The child was getting off a United Talmudic Academy of Monsey-owned bus around 11:15 a.m., according to a Spring Valley police incident report obtained through a Freedom of Information request.
On Tuesday, a 6-year-old child was struck by a bus on West Maple Avenue around 9:28 a.m. The boy suffered serious, but non-life threatening injuries, police said, and was transported to a hospital by Hatzolah Ambulance Corps. But did not provide a facility or the current status of the child.
According to New York State Department of Education regulations, all school bus drivers, whether they work for a district or a company that contracts with a school district, is mandated to undergo a physical performance test, pre-service training and refresher training. They may be required to have special classifications of licenses, depending on what vehicles they operate.
This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: School buses involved in spate of children getting hit in Ramapo NY
