Bus accident case returned to Jackson
BY DAVE BENJAMIN
Staff Writer

JACKSON - No criminal charges will be filed in connection with a March 9 motor vehicle accident that injured a Jackson school bus driver.

On that day, a bus being driven by Susan Kaiser, 58, of Lakewood, was hit by a hydroseed trailer that became separated from a dump truck owned by Down to Earth Landscaping.

Police said the trailer separated from the truck and crossed into the opposite lane on East Commodore Boulevard and struck a school bus in the area of the left front, which is the area where the driver's seat is located. Kaiser had to be extricated from the bus and was flown to the Jersey Shore University Medical Center trauma unit, Neptune.

Jeanne Barbour, a spokeswoman for the Jackson School District, told the Tri-Town News last week that Kaiser is at home and is continuing to receive therapy for the injuries she suffered.

The driver of the truck, Albino Rufino, 30, of Freehold Borough, was not injured.

Ocean County Assistant Prosecutor Steve Janosko said summonses were issued to the landscaping company for equipment violations relating to the condition of the truck and the trailer. Rufino was not charged in the accident.

Janosko said the matter was reviewed by the prosecutor's office for possible criminal charges.

"Criminal charges are not appropriate," he told the Tri-Town News. "The case will be returned this week to the Jackson municipal court for disposition on the summonses. I think it will be listed relatively soon. When it will be listed will be up to the Jackson court administrator."