2022 News Release

State Police Investigate Fatal Crash Involving Bus
Two Dead and Three Seriously Injured in
Two-Vehicle Crash

Woodbridge Twp, N.J. - The New Jersey State Police is investigating a two-vehicle crash involving a double-decker Coach bus that resulted in two fatalities and three serious injuries on the New Jersey Turnpike in Woodbridge Township, Middlesex County.

On Tuesday, August 9, at approximately 6:53 p.m., a Van Hool double-decker Coach bus, occupied by the driver and 22 passengers, was traveling southbound in the left lane of the outer roadway and a Ford F-150 was traveling in the left-center lane next to the bus. Based on the preliminary investigation, the bus driver lost directional control of the bus in the area of milepost 93.2 and struck the Ford. After the impact, the bus went off the road to the right, struck the guardrail, and overturned onto the Thomas Edison Service Area entrance ramp.

As a result of the crash, 2 passengers on the bus sustained fatal injuries, 2 passengers sustained serious injuries, 14 passengers sustained non-life-threatening injuries, and 4 passengers sustained no injuries. Cheryl Johnson, 59, of Bronx, N.Y. sustained fatal injuries and was pronounced deceased on scene. Cecilia Kiyanitza, 66, of Woodbury, N.J. was airlifted to an area hospital where she was later pronounced deceased. The driver of the bus, a 56-year-old male of Westville, N.J., sustained serious injuries. No injuries were reported to the driver of the Ford.

The victims were transported to the following area hospitals: Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital, Raritan Bay Medical Center, and Staten Island University Hospital.

The crash remains under investigation and there is no additional information available.

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