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        Mayor: School bus that crashed in Montvale was headed to wedding celebration

        Mayor Raymond Coles tells News 12 that all but one of the 15 people injured in the crash have been released from the hospital.

        Naomi Yané and Matt Trapani

        Mar 11, 2025, 9:42 PM

        Updated 7 hr ago

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        A 14-year-old boy is in critical condition after the school bus he was riding on overturned on the Garden State Parkway Monday night.
        The teen is still in the hospital, and News 12 was told he is "responding to pain."
        News 12 was told that the bus left from West Kennedy Boulevard in Lakewood with 44-year-old Joseph Itzkowitz behind the wheel.
        According to Lakewood Mayor Raymond Coles, the other boys on the bus who suffered various injuries have been released from the hospital.
        There are still more questions than answers about the crash. According to Montvale Mayor Mike Ghassali, 28 boys and two adults were on the bus.
        The Lakewood mayor told News 12 that the bus was heading to a Hasidic wedding celebration in New Square, New York, just over 10 miles from where the bus overturned.
        Fifteen people were injured, including the bus driver and the 14-year-old who remains in critical condition.
        The Montvale mayor says that “a remarkable individual, a hero, has emerged from this tragic situation.” The mayor said he would be sharing details about this person soon.
        It's currently unclear what bus company the driver worked for, but News 12 was told it's not the Lakewood School District.