School bus overturns on Garden State Parkway in Montvale; 15 injured, including 14 children
The bus overturned around 7:30 p.m. Monday on the northbound side of the highway just south of Exit 172.
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A packed school bus from Lakewood overturned on the Garden State Parkway in Montvale Monday night, leaving one child in critical condition and injuring 14 other people
The bus, which was headed to New York state, had 31 people on board. Officials say it traveled off the right side of the parkway and overturned around 7:30 p.m. near the James Gandolfini Rest Area.
The driver, 44-year-old Joseph Itzkowitz, of Lakewood, sustained moderate injuries. New Jersey State Police identified Itzkowitz as the driver and confirmed that at least one child was critically injured.
Montvale Mayor Mike Ghassali said that the bus was not from the Lakewood School District. Gov. Phil Murphy posted on social media that he had been briefed on the incident.
The crash shut down all lanes going north on the parkway for hours, but the area has since reopened. State police are leading the investigation, and authorities are working to determine the cause of the crash.
Witnesses described seeing children being loaded onto stretchers, with one saying, "I saw from outside the window complex they were loading someone on the stretcher....kids so young."
Coverage from Monday night
