PARK SLOPE — The driver in a school bus crash that injured four children and flipped the bus on its side has been suspended, a Department of Education spokeswoman said Monday.
The crash happened just after 3 p.m. on Friday on Fourth Avenue and First Street. All of the children involved were taken to a hospital for observation and then released, the DOE spokeswoman said.
The NYPD and FDNY did not have further details Monday on the cause of the crash or whether the driver was issued a summons or arrested.
The company listed on the side of the bus, Jofaz Transportation, could not be reached immediately for comment Monday.
Video of the crash obtained by NBC New York shows the bus driving past a white truck to make a left turn from the center lane of Fourth Avenue. Seconds later, a blue Mustang plows into the bus and knocks it on its side.
School Bus Crash Injures at Least 5 in Park Slope via @Dnainfo https://t.co/MzJRiPRtbB # pic.twitter.com/AMCORrJXHO
— Ben Fractenberg (@fractenberg) January 8, 2016
With several schools on or near Fourth Avenue, the busy thoroughfare has long been a concern for parents. The city's Department of Transportation added several safety upgrades in 2013 that helped cut pedestrian injuries by 61 percent between Atlantic Avenue and 15th Street.
However safety remains a challenge on the avenue, where several new high-rises under construction will add thousands of new residents in the years to come.
There have been three collisions recently at Fourth Avenue and First Street, according to NYPD data.
Joanna Oltman Smith, vice president of the 78th Precinct Community Council, says speeding is a chronic issue, and drivers step on the gas in part because of the avenue's design.
"It's designed to basically be a highway," Oltman Smith said. "There are a number of design features — extra wide lanes, lack of turn signals — that give a visual signal to the driver that it's OK to go very fast."
