Police: Brake failure caused school bus to crash into Edison home; 2 students injured

The bus crashed into a home at the intersection of Ziga and Rahway roads around 8 a.m.

Chris Keating

Oct 18, 2023, 1:14 PM

Updated 312 days ago

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Brake failure is likely the cause for a school bus crash Wednesday morning in Edison, authorities say.
There were 30 children on board the bus when it was headed to the John Adams Middle School.
The bus crashed into a home at the intersection of Ziga and Rahway roads around 8 a.m. Two children suffered minor injuries.
Police say the brakes on the bus failed as the driver approached a stop sign, forcing her to drive into a vacant lot where the bus plowed through two fences before entering another property and crashing into the home.
The driver was not hurt and most students on board continued to school on a second bus.
Photo credit: Joseph Caruso
Police Chief Thomas Bryan commended the driver for her effort to steer those children on board, keeping them clear of any serious injury.
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“She did a great job of actually saving the children on board. She avoided hitting three other houses,” Bryan said. “It’s amazing that no one else was seriously injured…I think she did an outstanding job.”
Members of the family that own the house were not around when the crash took place. However, there were members of a cleaning crew inside. None of them were injured.
Firefighters stabilized the area of the house that was damaged after the crash to avoid any type of collapse.
The bus was eventually towed from the property and will be inspected by the Department of Transposition.
The driver has not been identified.
Watch below as Edison Police Chief Tom Bryan and other emergency officials discuss the school bus crash at a press conference: