CHESTERFIELD: A child is dead; a community mourns

Three seriously injured in school bus accident

By Birgitta Wolfe, Managing Editor
CHESTERFIELD — The community is mourning the death of 11-year-old Isabelle Tezsla who died Feb. 16 when her school bus en route to Chesterfield Elementary School collided with a dump truck and critically injured the triplet’s two sisters and another boy.
Sophie Tezsla and Jonathan Zdybel, 11, remained in critical condition as of Monday at Cooper University Hospital Trauma Center in Camden where Natalie Tezsla was upgraded to stable.
“Natalie had a great visit with friends today (Monday). She was able to leave her room and play with her friends. Sophie is stable and continues to improve,” stated Greg Schiavone, who has created a Facebook page to raise funds for the Tezslas.
Isabelle, a sixth-grade student, was the daughter of New Jersey State trooper Sgt. Anthony and Sue Tezsla.
Thirteen other students who were taken to five area hospitals were treated and released and a 14th was expected to be released, according to Ellen McHenry, Chesterfield schools superintendent.
The 8:05 a.m. accident occurred at the intersection of Route 528 and Old York Road when the truck, driven by Michael Caporale, 38, of New Egypt, came in contact with the back driver’s side of the bus, swinging it around, and wedging it between two poles. The bus, carrying 25 students to the school on Saddle Way, was driven by John Tieman, 66, of Beverly.
The truck was owned by Herman’s Trucking Co. of Wrightstown.
Chesterfield Police Chief Kyle Wilson said the speed at the intersection is 45 mph. The truck was on Route 528, which has an amber light at the intersection, giving that driver the right-of-way, he said, and the bus was on Old York Road. It is unknown whether the bus was turning or had crossed the intersection, he added.
Roads leading to the accident site were blocked off by police on Tuesday as National Transportating Safety Board workers and police continued their investigation.
Although school was closed for the Presidents Day weekend Friday and Monday, counseling for parents and students was made available Friday morning and later through the Children’s Mobile Response and Stabilization System at 1-8877-652-7624.
Additional counseling through county volunteers and district staff will be available when school reopened Tuesday, the superintendent said in a letter sent to parents.
The evening of Feb. 16, the Baptist Church of Chesterfield opened its door for a community prayer vigil. Pastor Edward DeSilva said the church, which was packed with people coming and going. He estimated 200 to 300 people attended.
Neither the Tezsla nor the Zdybel family is a member of the church, he said, several of the first responders that day are members.
Meanwhile a Facebook page, Friends for the Tezsla’s, calling for donations for the Tezsla family has been established by Mr. Schiavone of Cranbury. The page already had 12,000 members. The Facebook page is www.facebook.com/events/274615502610167.
As of Tuesday, the site had received about $12,000 in donations, said Chris Poreda. Mr. Poreda was a classmate of Sgt. Tezsla at Notre Dame High School where they graduated in 1984. He said the Notre Dame alumni and the Fraternal Police Association of the N.J. State Police are also offering their help.
Donations may be made by check to Greg Schiavone, 40 Evan Drive, Cranbury, NJ 08512, via PayPal: [email protected] (for options click Friends and Family).A Facebook page, Prayers for Zdybels, to send cards or donations has also been created for fifth-grader Jonathan Zdybel. Donations made by made via [email protected].
The Friends site has seen some 15,000 users with donations, from as far as California, ranging from $3.75 to $500, Mr. Poreda said.
“It’s amazing. It’s humbling,” he said.
The aim for the current fundraiser is to cover day-to-day short-term expenses, but plans are under way for a more traditional effort, such as a main event in two to six months as a celebration of the children, he said. Already people are offering to donate food, bands and venues.
N.J. State Police Trooper Christopher Burgos, president of the State Trooper Fraternal Association of New Jersey, said his organization has offered to help the family, as it does whenever a member of the State Police family is in need of items such as food, transportation or lodging.
In this case, he said, Sgt. Tezsla’s brother, Alexander, is also a N.J. state trooper, and their father, also named Alexander, is a retired major with the N.J. State Police.
Injured students on Feb. 16 were taken by ambulance to Helene Fuld, and Robert Wood Johnson Hospitals. Three from Fuld were later helicoptered to Cooper University Hospital, two with life-threatening condition, Chief Wilson said.
Superintendent McHenry said administrators and school physicians were at the various hospitals during the day.
Letters were sent home to parents explaining the situation and asking parents to discuss the seriousness of the situation with their children, the superintendent said. After-school activities were canceled, she added.
The accident is under investigation by Chesterfield police, the National Transportation Safety Board, the New Jersey State Police and the Burlington County Prosecutor’s Office. No charges had been filed as of Monday afternoon.
A community candlelight service attended by about 200 people was held at the Chesterfield Baptist Church on Feb. 16.
Commenting on the accident, Gov. Chris Christie issued the following statement:
“This is a terrible tragedy. Mary Pat and I, and everyone from the Governor’s Office, send our thoughts and prayers to Sergeant Tezsla, his wife and family for the grievous loss of their child, Isabelle, and with hopes for a speedy recovery of the injuries suffered by Sophie and Natalie. The family’s grief must be enormous. We can only imagine their pain, and lend our support and prayers in this most difficult of times. We are sure that all of Chesterfield Township, the family of State Police men and women, and indeed residents all across New Jersey, have the Tezslas in their thoughts and prayers. Our same concerns and prayers extend to the other children aboard the bus, particularly Jonathan Zdybel, the young boy who also remains hospitalized and in critical condition.” 