עקסידענט אין מאנסי

Monsey boy hit by car
By STEVE LIEBERMAN
THE JOURNAL NEWS
(Original publication: December 29, 2004)

A 29-year-old Monsey woman was issued a summons after hitting a 4-year-old boy crossing West Central Avenue when she drove past a school bus with its red stop lights flashing, Ramapo police said yesterday.

The child's right thigh was injured, but the injury was not life-threatening, police said.

The driver, Victoria Brener, was issued a ticket charging her with failing to stop for a school bus as it discharged passengers, police said. She was released with orders to appear Jan. 5 in Ramapo Justice Court.

State law mandates that cars and trucks stop when a school bus is stopped and children are getting off. The buses flash red lights and have an extended arm indicating that children are leaving the bus, potentially crossing the road.

At 3:22 p.m. Monday, the 4-year-old boy got off a school bus and started crossing West Central Avenue at Adar Court, Ramapo Police Sgt. Martin Reilly said yesterday.

The bus' stop lights were working at the time, he said. Brener was driving in the opposite direction, Reilly said.

After an investigation, the police officers accused her of not stopping her 1994 Honda for the school bus, Reilly said.

Hatzoloh Ambulance Corps members took the injured child to Nyack Hospital, where he was treated, police said.

Several Rockland children have died or been injured in recent years after getting off school buses or darting into the streets between parked cars. In some cases, children have died when run over by buses.

More than 50,000 vehicles across the state illegally pass the buses every school day, according to the Rockland Traffic Safety Office.

Police countywide followed school buses in October, prepared to ticket drivers who failed to stop for the bus when children were exiting. The police action was part of a statewide program to educate drivers on the traffic laws and ensuring they stopped for school buses.

Only Ramapo police reported giving out a single ticket that day, said Rosie Jackson, the county's traffic safety executive director.

Jackson yesterday took the optimistic view that the lack of summonses meant people were following the law and stopping for school buses. She was saddened to hear a child had been injured.

"Apparently, most people are doing the right thing," she said.