10-Year-Old's Death Highlights Need For School Bus Safety: Gottheimer

BERGEN COUNTY, NJ — In 2018, 10-year-old Miranda Vargas of Paramus dreamed of being an engineer someday. But she and her 51-year-old teacher, Jennifer Williamson, died in a school bus crash on the way to Waterloo Village for a class trip.

On May 16, 2018, the bus they were in was hit by a dump truck on Route 80. The bus was full of students from East Brook Middle School.

Since then, legislators have pushed for school buses to be safer.

As school started earlier this month, Rep. Josh Gottheimer traveled to Midland Park to announce more legislation to protect students on school buses, in Vargas' honor.

Gottheimer spoke about the SECURES Act, which will require three-point lap-and-shoulder seat belts on school buses nationwide.

Also, noted a release, Miranda’s Law will keep reckless, unfit drivers out of school buses.

"Gottheimer has worked closely with the Vargas family and local and state legislators, including New Jersey State Senators Lagana and Sarlo, Assemblyman Tully, and Assemblywoman Swain, to take greater action on school bus safety," noted a release.

“We will never forget Miranda and Jennifer, and I know that so many are still pained by their passings," Gottheimer said. "I spoke to Miranda’s dad Joevanny just yesterday, and you can still feel the pain in his voice. But, as I know Miranda’s parents feel, we can – and we must — transform tragedy into action for other children and families That’s why, this week, I am reintroducing Miranda’s Law and the SECURES Act, bipartisan legislation to protect our children on America’s school buses.”

The SECURES Act requires seat belts on all school buses, makes three-point lap-and-shoulder seat belts the national standard, and encourages innovative measures to ensure students actually wear their seat belts while on school buses.

Miranda’s Law, named for Miranda Vargas, ensures real-time background checks, so that when a school bus driver has any driving infraction beyond a parking ticket, the school or school bus company will receive an alert about that infraction from the Department of Transportation within 24 hours.

Nearly 500,000 school buses carry more than 25 million students to and from school, activities, and class trips, Gottheimer's office said. Approximately 111 people die a year in school-bus-related crashes.

Only eight states require school buses to have seat belts, including New Jersey.

Gottheimer’s bus safety package has already received bipartisan support from Representatives Mike Lawler (NY-17), Jared Moskowitz (FL-23), Jill Tokuda (HI-2), and Eleanor Holmes Norton (DC-AL).

Gottheimer was joined by Midland Park Councilmembers Nancy Peet, Lorraine DeLuca, Robert Sansone, Mark Braunius, and Midland Park Chief of Police Michael Powderley.