Lack of sleep a major cause of fatal NJ school bus-truck crash
Speeding, defective brakes also played a role
A school bus driver’s failure to observe a truck as it was approaching the intersection caused a 2012 collision in New Jersey that killed one student and injured fifteen more students and the driver, according to the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB).
The crash occurred on February 16 near Chesterfield, when a school bus transporting 25 students was traveling northbound through an intersection. At the same time, a Mack roll-off truck with a fully loaded dump container was approaching the same intersection. As the school bus proceeded across the intersection, the truck collided with the left rear of the bus. The bus rotated and struck a traffic beacon support pole.