11-03-2025
Child critically injured, 12 other people hurt in Garden State Parkway school bus crash
Thirteen people were hurt, including a child who suffered critical injuries, when a school bus heading Montvale, New Jersey crashed on the Garden State Parkway on Monday night, officials said.
The bus was carrying 31 occupants when it crashed on the northbound side of the New Jersey parkway at mile marker 170.9, Montvale Mayor Mike Ghassali told The Post in a statement.
Footage from CBS news Chopper 2 shows the bus turned over on its side and facing the opposite direction of traffic just ahead of Exit 171, near the James Gandolfini Service Area in Montvale.
The bus riders were celebrating the birth of a rabbi's grandchild and carried 29 young men and two adults, The Monsey Scoop reported.
One of the young men was critically injured in the accident — and was initially feared dead.
Mayor Mike Ghassali announced the boy 'now has a pulse' in a 9:30 p.m. post on X.
He was rushed to Valley Hospital where he remains in 'extremely critical condition,' according to The Monsey Scoop.
A mass of first responders from both the city of Montvale and Rockland Hatzoloh could be seen in footage surrounding the bus on the parkway, pulling the kids to safety and quickly evacuating the critically injured boy.
'We extend our heartfelt gratitude to all first responders and the neighboring towns' first responders for their swift assistance. Special thanks to Rockland Hatzoloh Ambulance Service for arriving on the scene to help,' Ghassali said in his statement.
'Our thoughts and prayers are with the injured and their families during this difficult time.'
Governor Phil Murphy announced that an investigation into the crash is underway.
'I've been briefed on a crash on the Garden State Parkway earlier tonight near the James Gandolfini Service Area involving an overturned school bus from Lakewood,' Murphy wrote on X.
He said the New Jersey State Police and the New Jersey Department of Transportation were on the scene and investigating.
No official cause of the crash has been announced.
