Montvale Parkway Bus Crash Results in Serious Injuries

What started as a celebration of the birth of a Monsey Rabbi’s grandchild ended in a tragic bus crash injuring over fifteen young men.   

In the early evening of March 10, 2025, a bus carrying students traveling north on the Garden State Parkway heading from Lakewood, NJ back to New Square in Rockland County, NY turned over on to its side facing the wrong direction injuring at least 15 students and its 44-year-old bus driver. One passenger was seriously injured and is fighting for his life after being ejected from the bus and was pinned under the overturned bus.  Reports indicate that a 14-year-old boy was  initially feared dead; however, his pulse was revived at the accident scene.  

According to reports, the bus was carrying approximately 31 minors and two adults.   At least 13 people were transported to local hospitals, some in serious condition.  The crash happened at 7:30 PM at Garden State Parkway northbound mile marker post 170.9 near the James Gandolfini Service Area, just south of Exit 172.  Local Montvale and New Jersey State Police, together with firefighters and emergency medical personnel, including Rockland Hatzoloh Ambulance Service medical responders, responded to the bus accident scene.  

New York and New Jersey licensed personal injury attorney, Marc C. Saperstein, a lawyer and partner at Davis, Saperstein & Salomon, P.C.  who is an expert in bus accident litigation commented, “it appears from the severity of this crash that this bus accident was no “accident”… it was caused by negligence, plain and simple.”  He went on to say, ”the children on the bus should never have been subjected to the physical and emotional injuries they suffered that evening,  my thoughts and prayers are with the injured and their families during this difficult time.”

Authorities reported that “Based on a preliminary investigation, a school bus operated by Joseph Itzkowitz, a 44-year-old male from Lakewood, NJ, was traveling north on the GSP.”  The statement further read, “In the area of milepost 170.5, the bus traveled off the right side of the roadway and overturned.”  Other reports so far indicate that it remains unclear as to what caused the bus to veer off the roadway, however there were skid marks identified near the accident scene. 

School bus accidents like this bring back memories of recent tragedies, including the Paramus bus accident on Route 80 that occurred on May 17, 2018.  “Although changes were made regarding student bus safety, they have not gone far enough,” according to Saperstein who is representing several families of those injured in the Paramus bus accident.   

Investigations into bus accident can be quite complex.  Aside from human error, the cause may be roadway design, mechanical failure, negligent entrustment to and inadequately trained bus driver, inadequate safety protocols, speeding, and actions of other negligent drivers, including non-impact reckless drivers that left the accident scene. 

Undoubtedly, during the next days and weeks, more facts and details as they emerge will be disclosed. 

New Jersey  Governor Phil Murphy was briefed about the severity of the Montvale bus crash prompting him to announce that an investigation was underway by the New Jersey State Police and the New Jersey Department of Transportation. 

For more information about interstate personal injury litigation and bus crash accidents contact Marc C. Saperstein at 201-907-5000 or marc.saperstein@dsslaw.com.