Students Were Jumping from Bus

A student was badly injured after a fall from the back of a school bus in Camden Tuesday and now there are questions about whether she fell accidentally. As police photographed the bus and talked to the driver Tuesday, they got a chaotic picture of what they called out-of-control high school students from Pennsauken Vo-Tech.

The driver from the Safety Bus Company said that he had just made his second stop in Camden when students starting acting up.

"The driver reports that students were throwing objects at the driver and other students and that's when the driver made the decision to return to the school," said Jim Dugan, vice president of the Safety Bus Company.

Because drivers are not allowed to reprimand students, they are told to take them back to the school for discipline. As the bus came to a stop, police said that students opened the rear emergency door and began jumping out. One of those students was a 17-year-old girl.

"At some point, the victim in this case fell out that door. Whether she tripped while exiting or was pushed is unclear," said Lt. Mike Lynch of the Camden Police Department.

The girl struck her head on the street as someone closed the rear door and the bus kept going. The victim was transported to Cooper Medical Center with a skull fracture.

The driver said that there was nothing he could do to stop the kids from jumping out and had no idea one of them was injured.

"I know he feels sorry for the family for what happened, but he said there was nothing he could do. He feels bad for the family and the injury," Dugan said.

Police said that no charges are warranted against the bus driver.

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