Bus collision
is still under investigation
MIDDLETOWN — The looks of a Route 35 accident last week that left a car totaled and a bus straddling a median were a bit deceiving, according to authorities.
Middletown Police Traffic Supervisor Frederick Henry said Tuesday, "Usually when an accident looks as bad as this one did, the emergency response people prepare themselves for the worst." The accident occurred at 1:44 p.m. May 22 on Route 35 and Oak Hill Road.
"I was not there, but I would have to say from what I’ve seen and read in reports — even though there were injuries — the people involved were lucky. When an accident is as horrific looking as that one was, treatment is geared toward trauma. You have to assume there may be injuries you cannot see right away," he said.
Henry said the accident is still under investigation by officer Douglas Wiatrak. According to the accident report, the Red Bank-bound passenger bus failed to stop at a red light. It then struck a champagne-colored Oldsmobile at Oak Hill Road while heading south on Route 35. The car, operated by Frederick Krauss, 51, of Matawan, was struck on its driver’s side by the bus and pushed diagonally across the intersection.
No charges have been filed.
At the same time, the bus came to a stop and was left teetering on top of the highway median, lengthwise, in between its front wheels. On its way to the stop by the median, the bus struck the traffic light pole at the intersection, putting the light out of commission and tying up traffic for at least two hours, Henry said. The bus was taken off the median at about 4 p.m. that day, a couple of hours after the accident.
Owned by NJ Transit, the bus had been leased by Connex TCT, Neptune. The bus driver, George Schroeder Jr., 42, of Long Branch was not injured. It was reported that there were five passengers on the bus, none of whom were injured either.
Krauss, the driver of the car, was transported to Jersey Shore Medical Center’s Trauma Unit in Neptune after sustaining a broken foot and concussion. "To my knowledge, he was later transferred to a regular unit and was in stable condition," said Henry. "I don’t know what his current health status is."
The traffic light needed to be repaired by the state Department of Transportation. The investigation of the incident has not yet been completed.
Though Henry described the area as normally busy, he said it’s not characteristically a hot spot for hazardous traffic conditions.