The Old Westbury Police Department responded to a crash between an SUV and a school bus during the afternoon of Jan. 7
Old Westbury Police Department
Two children and four adults were injured in a crash between a truck and a school bus in the afternoon of Jan. 7, according to Old Westbury Police.
The injuries suffered are not serious, according to police. The intersection was shut down for about five hours as crews worked to separate the vehicles and clear the asphalt.
Alberto Lopes, a 66-year-old Freeport man, was driving a dump truck loaded with asphalt westbound on Store Hill Road, approaching a red traffic light, police said.
Police said the truck collided with an SUV and a school bus after going through the intersection on Post Road and Store Hill Road; the load of asphalt spilled onto the road when the dump truck overturned.
Lopes reported that the truck’s brakes were not working as he approached the intersection, police said.
The police said Claudia Rudnet, an Oyster Bay resident, was driving the SUV north on Post Road, crossing over Store Hill, and Sonia Castillo, a 58-year-old Westbury resident, was driving the school bus north on Post Road.
First responders from the Old Westbury Police Department, the Nassau County Police Department, and the State Department of Environmental Conservation responded to the crash.
According to a department representative, the crash caused 30 gallons of diesel fuel to spill. However, the spill will not have an environmental impact.
The children, a 10-year-old boy and girl from the Westbury School District, Castillo, Maria Barahona, an aide in the Old Westbury School District, Rudnet, and Lopes were all injured as a result of the crash, police said.
The two children were transported to Cohen’s Children’s Hospital, Castillo and Barahona to NYU Langone Hospital, and Lopes and Rudnet to Nassau University Medical Center.
According to Old Westbury Police Chief Stuart Cameron, the dump truck is being inspected, and police are investigating whether the brakes failed.