The teen driver of the car that crashed into a school bus in Brighton last week has been charged with speeding, failure to stop at a stop sign, failure to keep right and reckless driving.
"The vehicle was being operated in a reckless manner at a speed well in excess of the posted 25 mph speed limit" before the crash left it wedged under a school bus, Brighton Police Chief Mark Henderson said at a press conference on Monday.
John Zakhary, 16, who was driving the vehicle on a junior driver license Oct. 9, has also been charged with violating a restriction that limited him to one passenger.
Zakhary had three passengers at the time of the crash: Brighton High School juniors Scott Collins and Kevin Thapa and freshman and Christa Mickol.
The four teens were taken to Strong Hospital. Zakhary and Thapa were discharged last week.
As of press time, Mickol remained in the hospital in satisfactory condition while Collins was in guarded condition in the intensive care unit.
Of the charges listed, most are traffic violations. Reckless driving is a misdemeanor.
The crash happened last Tuesday at 3.30 p.m. on Warren Avenue, between Edgewood and Clover in Brighton.
In the neighborhood, the event started with a loud noise, followed by loud screams.
"The girl in particular was screaming," Glenn Miller said. "Your heart was just breaking."
Neighbors who were on the scene said the bus driver first tended to the children on the bus.
Once they were secured, the driver tried to move the bus off the car, but that didn't work.
"The car was being dragged so he stopped," said David Lawrence, who was at a stop sign when he heard the impact.
Neighbors said the passenger on the driver's side then managed to get out of the smashed car.
"One of the boys got out and was talking to the driver in the front. 'Stay with us,'" Lawrence said.
"He pulls the driver out and then they assist the girl out," Miller said.
Ryan Lawrence, a Brighton high student, said that at that moment he realized this was not just an accident, but an accident involving classmates and friends.
"I felt really shocked. I didn't expect them to be Brighton students," he said.
With three of the teenagers out of the car, the teen who was in the front passenger seat was seriously injured and trapped.
The teen driver of the car that crashed into a school bus in Brighton last week has been charged with speeding, failure to stop at a stop sign, failure to keep right and reckless driving.
"The vehicle was being operated in a reckless manner at a speed well in excess of the posted 25 mph speed limit" before the crash left it wedged under a school bus, Brighton Police Chief Mark Henderson said at a press conference on Monday.
John Zakhary, 16, who was driving the vehicle on a junior driver license Oct. 9, has also been charged with violating a restriction that limited him to one passenger.
Zakhary had three passengers at the time of the crash: Brighton High School juniors Scott Collins and Kevin Thapa and freshman and Christa Mickol.
The four teens were taken to Strong Hospital. Zakhary and Thapa were discharged last week.
As of press time, Mickol remained in the hospital in satisfactory condition while Collins was in guarded condition in the intensive care unit.
Of the charges listed, most are traffic violations. Reckless driving is a misdemeanor.
The crash happened last Tuesday at 3.30 p.m. on Warren Avenue, between Edgewood and Clover in Brighton.
In the neighborhood, the event started with a loud noise, followed by loud screams.
"The girl in particular was screaming," Glenn Miller said. "Your heart was just breaking."
Neighbors who were on the scene said the bus driver first tended to the children on the bus.
Once they were secured, the driver tried to move the bus off the car, but that didn't work.
"The car was being dragged so he stopped," said David Lawrence, who was at a stop sign when he heard the impact.
Neighbors said the passenger on the driver's side then managed to get out of the smashed car.
"One of the boys got out and was talking to the driver in the front. 'Stay with us,'" Lawrence said.
"He pulls the driver out and then they assist the girl out," Miller said.
Ryan Lawrence, a Brighton high student, said that at that moment he realized this was not just an accident, but an accident involving classmates and friends.
"I felt really shocked. I didn't expect them to be Brighton students," he said.
With three of the teenagers out of the car, the teen who was in the front passenger seat was seriously injured and trapped.
"They were yelling at the kid, 'Scott, stay with us.' kind of thing," Miller said.
Emergency crews arrived and began working on the teen and working on getting him out of the car. The process took 40 minutes.
"Usually the goal is 20 minutes, but this took 40... which considering was relatively quickly," said Captain Stephen Macadams from the Brighton Fire Department.
When they got him out, his father, who was watching from a house right in front of the accident realized it was his son.
As emergency workers raced him to the hospital, police rushed his father there as well. Neighbors and friends, like Ryan, were left to do the only thing they could.
"I'm just praying and hoping out of everything I can do that he can be OK," Lawrence said.
Henderson said police will work with the school district to better monitor young drivers and educate them and their parents about the junior license passenger restriction.
"Being a new driver, a relatively young driver, that carries a lot of responsibility," Henderson said. "(The junior license restriction) was amended so that you aren't distracted by the people around you in your vehicle."
Henderson said that drugs and alcohol are not factors in the accident, and that texting or cell phone use did not appear to have played a role, either.
The case has been referred to the Monroe County District Attorney's office to determine possible future action.
—Includes reporting by News10NBC
