Manchester school bus crash: 1 in critical condition, 2 others injured

MANCHESTER – A 91-year-old motorist is in critical condition with life-threatening injuries, after police said he failed to stop at a red traffic light and crashed into a school bus at the intersection of Route 530 and Lacey Road in the Whiting section, according to police.

John Keenan, who lives in Whiting, was wearing a seatbelt at the time of the collision but had to be extricated from his vehicle by members of the Whiting Volunteer Fire Department, police said in a prepared statement.

Keenan was taken by helicopter to Jersey Shore University Medical Center in Neptune, which is the regional trauma center, police said.

The driver of the school bus, Kim Barnes-Porter, 64, and her passenger, Dennis Dandorph, 79, also both of Whiting, were wearing their seatbelts and suffered minor injuries. Both were transported by ambulance to Community Medical Center in Toms River.

The crash took place just before 9:14 a.m. Friday. Police officers who responded to the scene found a disabled 2015 Toyota Corolla with extensive driver’s side damage off the road.

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A 2016 Ford mini-school bus, owned and operated by Hartnett Transit Service of Lakewood, also was disabled at the scene and had sustained extensive front-end damage. The bus had come to a stop against one of the support poles for the traffic light at the intersection.

A preliminary investigation has determined that the Toyota was going north on Lacey Road and failed to stop at the red traffic signal in the intersection of Route 530, police said.

As the Toyota entered the intersection, it collided with the school bus which was going east on Route 530, police said.

After the collision, Keenan lost control of the Toyota as the vehicle spun 180 degrees, struck a curb, and then came to a complete facing south on Lacey Road, police said.

In addition to officers from the Manchester Police Department, firefighters from the Whiting Volunteer Fire Department, paramedics from MONOC, emergency medical technicians from Quality Medical Transport, and investigators from the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office and Ocean County Sheriff’s Department Crime Scene Investigation Unit, all responded to the scene in the aftermath of the accident.

The crash remains under investigation by Manchester Patrolman Ian Bole of the department’s Traffic Safety Unit..

Federal lawmakers say new legislation is required to make school buses safer for America’s children. Check out the video above.

Erik Larsen: 732-682-9359 or elarsen@gannettnj.com

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