2 girls airlifted to hospitals after bus crashes into tree in New Jersey. Jaws of Life needed to rescue passengers
WEST MILFORD, N.J. -- Two girls had to be airlifted to local hospitals after a tour bus hit a large tree in New Jersey on Tuesday.
A day of fun came to a halt when a bus from Monsey Tours of Brooklyn crashed into a downed tree on East Shore Road, south of the Storms Island Road intersection, in Passaic County.
"The tree was about six to eight feet off the ground, and that tree, the branches, they were cut but it was still on a power line," West Milford resident Anton David said.
Police say one of the branches from the tree broke off and fell into the passenger side of the bus. The windows were left broken.
Two girls were seriously injured -- one was flown to St. Joseph's University Medical Center in Paterson, the other to Hackensack University Hospital.
"There was two girls that looked like they had some kind of head trauma," David said.
Law enforcement officials say three other girls were transported to Chilton Medical Center.
"There was a gentleman that tried to get them out before the paramedics came and he was injured ... The Jaws of Life came and they were able to get the rest of the girls out," David said.
There was front-end and body damage to the bus. The roadway shut down for hours as police, sheriff and the Passaic County prosecutor's office investigated.
Neighbors say the bus initially went to the wrong marina and was making its way to the correct location when the crash happened.
The investigation is ongoing.
