Police: School bus driverhit brakes, injuring kids

By:Emily Craighead
   A school bus driver who stopped abruptly, allegedly to teach children not to stand up on the bus, will no longer be driving Hillsborough students to school.
   The incident occurred after the bus left Auten Road Intermediate School in the afternoon Nov. 24 and left six juveniles with minor injuries, the most severe being a 10-year-old girl who suffered a cracked tooth.
   The driver, Michael Hague, 61, of East Millstone, was issued a summons for reckless driving and charges of disorderly conduct and simple assault are pending, according to Hillsborough Police Lt. Paul Kaminski. The Somerset County prosecutor’s office declined to press indictable charges, he said.
   "(Mr. Hague) was bringing several students home. They were acting out and in an attempt to teach them a lesson, he instructed the kids to stand in the center aisle, drove forward, and then stopped short," Lt. Kaminski said.
   According to Lt. Kaminski, Mr. Hague "immediately recognized the fact he used poor judgment."
   After finishing his route, Mr. Hague informed his supervisor at Laidlaw Transit of the incident and was immediately suspended, Lt. Kaminski said. Mr. Hague has been driving school buses for eight years.
   Police were initially notified of the incident by a parent.
   According to three bus drivers who drive students to and from Hillsborough Middle School, students rarely wear seat belts on the bus, although district policy requires passengers and drivers to buckle up.
   Bus drivers are required to remind students to buckle their seat belts and walk up the aisle to make sure they do so. However, the drivers cannot do more than ask students to stay seated and wear their seat belts.
   Two of the bus drivers previously drove routes for Trenton public schools and said Hillsborough students generally behave, but often stand up and move around the bus while it is moving.
   District policy states bus drivers are responsible for student discipline on the bus and building principals are responsible for suspending students from riding the bus if necessary.
   The middle school bus drivers said if they encountered a serious problem, such as students fighting on the bus, they would immediately return to the school and turn the matter over to the school.
   School Superintendent Karen Lake did not return requests for comment before press time.