School bus driver injured on East Commodore Blvd.
BY DAVE BENJAMIN
Staff Writer

JACKSON - Two days after a motor vehicle accident on Freehold Road left two Jackson Memorial High School siblings dead, a March 9 accident on East Commodore Boulevard sent a school bus driver, a school bus aide and four children to area hospitals.

Jackson police Sgt. Russell Scialpi provided details of the accident, which occurred at 8:32 a.m. He said a dump truck traveling east on East Commodore Boulevard (east of Cedar Swamp Road) was pulling a hydroseed trailer. The trailer separated from the truck, crossed into the opposite lane of traffic and struck a small school bus near where the driver's seat is located.

The school bus was heading west on East Commodore Boulevard.

"To the best of my knowledge, the four children who were on their way to the Elms Elementary School may have had some minor injuries, nothing serious, [a few] bumps and bruises. The driver appeared to be seriously injured and there was an aide on the bus who was [possibly] injured, but we don't know to what extent," Scialpi said at the scene of the accident.

In the immediate aftermath of the accident, Scialpi said he did not know why the trailer separated from the dump truck.

Later in the day police confirmed that the driver of the school bus, Susan Kaiser, 58, of Lakehurst, had to be extricated from the vehicle by representatives of the Jackson Mills Fire Company.

Kaiser was flown by helicopter to the Jersey Shore University Medical Center trauma unit, Neptune, for treatment.

On March 12, Kaiser's condition was upgraded from fair to good; however, she was expected to undergo additional surgery that day, according to John Shaeffer, a hospital spokesman.

Jeanne Zapata, the school bus aide, was transported to Kimball Medical Center, Lakewood, for treatment of what were described as minor injuries.

Renee Crotts, a spokeswoman at CentraState Medical Center, Freehold Township, said four children who were on the bus at the time of the accident were treated and released from the hospital.

Police said Albino Rufino, 30, of Freehold, was operating the 2004 Chevrolet dump truck that was pulling a hydroseed trailer. The truck and the trailer were registered to Down To Earth Landscaping Inc.

Jackson Superintendent of Schools Thomas Gialanella said, "It has [been] a difficult week for students, staff and for the whole community. It's been a difficult week having one accident, never mind two, and one resulting in two deaths."

Speaking about the March 9 bus accident, Gialanella said, "We still have an employee [Kaiser] who is going to be operated on. Thank God the students and the bus aide are safe, but we still have someone with serious injuries and [she] will have to go through a long recovery."

Responding at the scene of the accident were MONOC paramedics, Jackson Fire Districts No. 3 and No. 4, the Jackson Office of Emergency Manage-ment under the direction of Barry Olejarz and the Bureau of Fire Preven-tion Districts No. 2 and No. 4.

East Commodore Boulevard was closed for four-and-a-half hours while the accident scene was investigated and cleaned up.

An investigation is being conducted by Jackson police officers Trevor Crowley, Christopher Kelly and Joseph Candido, along with the Ocean County Prosecutor's Office and the New Jersey State Police Commercial Vehicle Unit.

Jackson police are asking anyone who witnessed the accident or who may have any information pertaining to the accident to call the police department at (732) 928-1111.