Nightmare ride! high school students in New Jersey escape after bus driver loses control

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A ride home for some New Jersey highschoolers on Feb. 2 turned to be a nightmare as they struggled with bringing their bus to a stop after the driver suffered a medical emergency. The bus, which was carrying seven students from West Windsor-Plainsboro High School South, hit a tree branch and then struck another tree before coming to rest partially off the roadway, the East Windsor Patch reported.

None of the students were seriously injured, although one 14-year-old reported pain in her wrist/hand area, but declined medical attention at the scene, Ptl. Frank LaTorre told MercerSpace.

A student, Tanuj Redui, told News12 he knew something was wrong when the bus started drifting, and he started hearing the rustle of the branches. He and other students tried to help the driver and called 911. The students were able to untangle the driver’s seat belt and stop the bus, and some students tried to keep the driver calm, according to the reports. All students were able to get off the bus through the emergency exit and waited until emergency services arrived.

Raj Datta told News 12 that his daughter suffered a wrist injury. “I came over into the bus I tried to help him up a little bit, free his hands and legs,” Datta said.

West Windsor Emergency Services and the Capital Health MICU arrived at the scene and attended the driver, described by news reports as a 73-year-old driver from Monroe, New Jersey. He was then transported to the University Medical Center of Princeton at Plainsboro, and was pronounced dead a short time after arrival.