NJ Woman Crashed School Bus, Wasnt Authorized To Drive: Report – Newark, NJ Patch

NEWARK, NJ — A school bus driver working for an Essex County company allegedly wasn’t authorized to drive the vehicle when she crashed with a dozen children aboard earlier this week, a report says.

The woman, Lisa Byrd, 57, of Newark, was driving a bus on Feb. 20 from 14th Avenue School when she crashed into a tree near 14th Avenue and Jones Street, according to the Newark Department of Public Safety.

After the crash, emergency responders treated Byrd with Narcan, a drug commonly used to reverse opiate overdoses. She was transported to University Hospital for treatment and later arrested, police said.

Authorities charged Byrd with 12 counts of endangering the welfare of a child, driving while impaired and possession of drug paraphernalia.

None of the students were injured in the crash, authorities said.

On Thursday, the owner of the company that employed Byrd – East Orange-based F & A Transport – told News 12 New Jersey that she was actually a bus aide, and didn’t have permission to drive the vehicle. Byrd passed a background check in August 2018, he said.

“She made an unauthorized use of the vehicle, and she was the unauthorized operator at that time,” Ahmed Mahgoub told News 12 New Jersey. (Read the full article here)

No additional information was immediately available about how Byrd managed to obtain the keys to the bus, or why she was behind the wheel.

Some people – including Mahgoub – have since questioned police allegations that Byrd was on drugs at the time of the crash.

According to Mahgoub, Byrd previously told him that she had a medical issue related to diabetes. He told Pix 11 News that she’d mentioned that her medication wasn’t working properly.

Mahgoub suggested that Byrd’s sugar levels may have dropped, sending her into a coma, Pix 11 News reported.

Some witnesses at the scene of the crash also said that Byrd wasn’t under the influence of drugs in their opinions. “She was not high,” one bystander said. (Read the full article here)

A spokesperson for the Newark Public School District provided Patch with a statement about the incident on Thursday afternoon:

“A private bus vendor, F and A Transportation, was transporting Newark Public School children yesterday afternoon from 14th Avenue School home. Students on the bus were picked up from the school at approximately 1 p.m. Approximately five minutes later, the driver of the bus was involved in an accident. No student injuries were sustained in the accident. All students on the bus were transported to a nearby hospital, where they were evaluated and released. Immediately following the accident, the Newark Board of Education suspended F and A Transportation from providing the 14th Avenue bus route, which is being operated by the Newark Board of Education until an investigation has been completed. The driver of the bus is employed by F and A Transportation, not the Newark Board of Education. We will continue our investigation into F and A Transportation until its conclusion.”

F and A will continue all other routes with the Newark Public School District at this time. The only route discontinued is the 1 route for the special needs students at 14th Avenue, NPS administrators added.

Pix 11 News posted the below video taken at the scene of the crash.

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