Jewish Day Camp Bus Crash Injures Seven in Old Tappan

A bus taking students home from a Jewish day camp collided with a pick-up truck in Old Tappan Monday, sending six children to local hospitals, according to published reports.

The crash was reported around 4:15 p.m. when the bus rear-ended the pick-up truck as it made a right turn into a driveway from Orangeburg Road, Old Tappan Police Chief Thomas Shine told NJ.com. The bus, operated by D&M Tours, was taking children home from Camp Shalom when the accident occurred.

The six children were not seriously hurt and able to walk off the bus, the report said. The driver of the pick-up truck was taken to Englewood Hospital and Medical Center suffering from “moderate to serious” injuries.

“As a precautionary measure, a few of the campers were transported to local area hospitals for evaluation. We are providing our complete cooperation to authorities during their investigation,” Camp Director Rabbi Yehoshua Gold wrote in e-mail to parents. “To help ensure that our operations are as safe as possible, campers transported in school buses are driven by professional drivers who hold commercial drivers' licenses.”

A representative of Paterson-based D&M tours said the bus driver was temporarily suspended while authorities conducted an investigation. The company could not immediately provide additional details Monday night.

Camp Shalom is based in Old Tappan and lists a mailing address in Teaneck.