Crime & Safety

Injuries Result When School Bus, Car Collide at Route 88 Intersection

Driver of car may have suffered a medical episode, police say

Six children and one adult were injured Tuesday morning after a car collided with a school bus at the intersection of Route 88 and Olden Street, police said.

The accident may have been precipitated by the driver of the car, Craig W. VanBaulen, 43, of Brick, suffering a medical episode of some kind, said Sgt. David Bedrosian of the Brick Police Traffic Safety Unit. The accident occurred just after 11:30 a.m.

The school bus, which was transporting 21 children ages 4 through 11 from a gymnastics school in Sayreville to Adventures Jersey Shore on Princeton Avenue, was stopped at the red light on Route 88 West when it was struck by a 2012 Toyota Camry driven by VanBaulen. Bedrosian said VanBaulen in the process of making a right turn onto Route 88 West from Olden Street when he failed to maintain his lane of travel and struck the bus head-on.

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Brick Police EMS, Lakewood EMS and MONOC paramedics responded to the scene. Additionally, Bedrosian said, the newly acquired Brick Township Police Department was diverted from a training exercise and responded to assist at the scene. The Laurelton Fire Company also responded to contain a fluid leak.

VanBaulen, along with six children, all from the Monroe-Sayreville area, were transported to . VanBaulen was treated for head and stomach injuries, as well as a laceration to his right knee. The children's injuries were all minor, and all have been treated and released, Bedrosian said.

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Meanwhile, the Brick Township Office of Emergency Management, Joseph Pawlowicz and Joseph Gilsenan established a staging area within the Laurelton Fire House where the uninjured passengers, which included a driver and three chaperones, waited for alternate transportation.

The cause of the crash is still under investigation, Bedrosian said, although preliminary findings are that the VanBaulen appears to have suffered a medical episode. One lane of eastbound traffic on Route 88 was closed for about an hour after the accident.

Brick Township Police Officers Chris Geskey and Mark Storch were the initial responding officers to the scene. The department's Traffic Safety Unit also responded.


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