SCHOOL BUS CRASH REPORTS 2007

Bus Driver Unlicensed
March 22, 2007

MILLVILLE -- The driver of a Sheppard minibus was cited by police Tuesday for careless driving and being unlicensed after she hit a parked vehicle on Fulton Street.

The driver's license of Patricia Lynch, 78, of Spring Garden Road, expired in January 2007, police said.

A spokeswoman for the state Motor Vehicle Commission said Lynch renewed her license in Bridgeton Wednesday.

The bus driver told police the 7:30 a.m. accident occurred after she moved the vehicle to the right to pick up a passenger, a Pineland Learning Center student.

She also added she was giving room to an oncoming vehicle.

Police said the back part of the bus struck the Pontiac -- registered to Catherine Cossaboon, of Fulton Street.

No injuries were reported -- a 69-year-old aide was also on the bus, which carried no other passengers -- and Cossaboon's vehicle was left at the scene after the accident.

Mike Horan, spokesman for the state Motor Vehicle Commission, said part of his department's school bus inspection process is checking records for bus drivers.

They also check the condition of the bus, via a 150-point inspection, conducted bi-annually.

"Any vehicle used to transport students, they have to go through our inspection process," he said.

The MVC School Bus Inspection Unit works with Governor's School Bus Task Force to inspect more than 78,000 buses at more than 1,300 terminals throughout the state, Horan said.

He added federal regulations also require bus companies to check records and credentials for drivers.

Tuesday's accident marked the third one in a little more than a month that involved a bus striking a parked vehicle.

Earlier this month, Sheppard driver William R. Bogart, 58, of West Main Street, was cited for careless driving after he struck an unoccupied vehicle parked in front of 424 W. Main St.

Chasta A. Kott, 33, of North 9th Street, also a Sheppard driver, was issued summonses for driving the wrong way on a one-way street, careless driving and leaving the scene of an accident after police say she struck a parked vehicle Feb. 20 near the intersection of Church and Foundry streets.

By JAIME MARINE Staff Writer

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