A nine-year-old girl remains in critical condition following surgery yesterday at Long Island Jewish Hospital after an unregistered van carrying school children was struck by a city bus. The accident occurred Friday morning allegedly after the passenger van cut off a Q46 bus in Fresh Meadows, Queens. The bus clipped the van, sending it into a spin, shattering its windows, and ejecting a bench seat into the street.
The van was carrying seven children, six of whom were headed to P.S. 178 and another was being taken to daycare. The owner of the van said that the vehicle was a temporary replacement for the schoolbus he normally uses that had broken down. The driver of the van, Gene Boyd was arrested at the scene for reckless driving and endangering the welfare of children. Police took him to the hospital after he complained of chest pains.
The New York Post reports that Boyd was driving the van east along Union Turnpike when he attempted to make a left turn onto 184th St. That is when it was struck by a westbound MTA bus, sending it spinning through the intersection. The nine-year-old who suffered the head injuries is identified as Rebecca Frazier. She's currently in critical but stable condition. A five-year-old girl is also hospitalized in stable condition. Robert Davis, the owner of the van, may face charges for allowing children to be transported in a vehicle without commercial registration.
(Photo from NY1)
