What to Know
- A school bus driver has pleaded not guilty in a crash that killed a student and teacher in New Jersey
- Hudy Muldrow, 78, faced two counts of reckless vehicular homicide and other charges in the May 2018 crash
- A trial has been scheduled for October, but lawyers say a plea deal might be reached before then
A school bus driver has pleaded not guilty in a crash that killed a student and teacher in New Jersey.
Seventy-eight-year-old Hudy Muldrow faced two counts of reckless vehicular homicide and other charges in the May 2018 crash on Interstate 80 in Mount Olive.
News 12 New Jersey reports that Muldrow, of Woodland Park, has been out on bail and lost his driver's license.
A trial has been scheduled for October, but lawyers say a plea deal might be reached before then.
State Police say Muldrow was driving students on a field trip and tried to make an illegal U-turn on the highway. The bus was broadsided by a dump truck and broke apart.
The bus was carrying 44 people. Dozens of children were injured and 10-year-old Miranda Vargas, a twin, and teacher Jennifer Williamson Kennedy, were killed.
Muldrow has had his license suspended 14 times. Some were for administrative reasons such as failure to pay parking tickets, but Muldrow also had eight speeding violations between 1975 and 2001, according to state motor vehicle records.
The crash spurred legislative efforts to require buses to have three-point seat belts and to require quicker notification to school districts when their bus drivers commit moving violations.
