5 Girls Injured, 2 Seriously, In Monsey Tours Bus Crash: Police

WEST MILFORD, NJ — Two girls were seriously injured Tuesday afternoon after the charter bus they were riding in crashed into a tree in West Milford, according to police.

Officers were called to the scene of the crash on East Shore Road (CR 704), south of Storms Island Road, just after 3:15 p.m. Police said they found the bus on the side of the road with front end damage, and there were multiple people inside with various injuries.

The bus was operated by Monsey Tours of Brooklyn, N.Y., according to township police. The transportation company could not immediately be reached for comment.

Based on an initial investigation, police said the bus was southbound on East Shore Road when it struck a tree, causing one of the branches to break off and enter the passenger compartment of the bus.

The two girls with severe injuries were taken via helicopter to area hospitals, police said; their conditions were not specified. Three other girls were transported to Chilton Medical Center with minor injuries.

Officials did not specify how many people were on the bus, or give an age for the victims. Police did say that the girls' families have been notified.

Orange & Rockland County Fires said on Facebook that the bus had 56 passengers and Hatzoloh EMS requested eight ambulances from Monsey, New Square, Spring Valley and Kiryas Joel.

Rockland Daily said it was one of three buses taking students from Sharei Torah School in Brooklyn to Greenwood Lake for a boating trip.

East Shore Road was shut down for several hours due to the crash, according to West Milford Police, who will continue probing the cause of the crash. The Passaic County Sheriff's Office and Passaic County Prosecutor's Office were also on scene for the initial investigation.