School bus strikes, kills New Jersey woman
Leyla Kan was walking through an intersection, and even though she and Esperanza Jaramillo, the driver, had the green light, Jaramillo allegedly did not yield the right of way. Police have issued motor-vehicle summonses to Jaramillo for careless driving, failure to yield to a pedestrian who had the right of way, and driving with a vehicle with badly worn tires.
LEONIA, N.J. — The Record reports that Leyla Kan, a Fort Lee woman and café owner, was struck and killed by a school bus while walking through an intersection last week.
Police have issued motor-vehicle summonses for careless driving, failure to yield to a pedestrian who had the right of way, and driving with a vehicle with badly worn tires, to the driver, Esperanza Jaramillo, according to the newspaper.
Leonia Police Chief Thomas Rowe told The Record that Jaramillo, an aide and a special-needs student were on board the small school bus, which was making a left turn when it struck Kan. The pedestrian and the driver had the green light in their favor, Rowe told the newspaper, but the bus driver did not yield the right of way. Kan, apparently unseen by the driver, was hit by the protruding passenger compartment of the minibus behind the door. Witnesses screamed and honked their horns to get the driver’s attention as the bus dragged Kan approximately 71 feet before it stopped.
The Record also reports that Rowe said no criminal charges would be brought; a catalyst for criminal charges would have been cell phone use at the time, but evidence indicated that was not a factor in the accident. Neither the cell phone of the driver nor the victim was found to have been in use at the time, Rowe told the newspaper. He added that the bus, owned by Rainbow Transportation Inc., was removed from the scene and impounded for further investigation into possible equipment violations in addition to the worn tires.
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