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Driver in N.J. school bus crash had multiple license suspensions

By Sara Shayanian

May 23 (UPI) -- The driver of the school bus that collided with a dump truck in New Jersey last week, killing two people, had a long history of tickets and license suspensions.

Hudy Muldrow, 77, had his license suspended 14 times since he began driving in 1975, the New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission said Tuesday. Six of the license suspensions were due to unpaid parking tickets.

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The bus driver also had eight speeding tickets on record, as well as one for careless driving and a summons for unsafe operation of a motor vehicle in 2003.

Muldrow had his licensed restored on Jan. 3. He has no active points and has the appropriate commercial license to drive a school bus.

Muldrow was driving middle-schoolers on a field trip when the crash occurred on Highway 80 in northern New Jersey. The crash tore off the bus' front end and undercarriage.

Video from the crash shows Muldrow appearing to have missed an exit and then attempting to make a U-turn on a police turnaround.

A teacher, Jennifer Williamson, 51, and a fifth-grade student, Miranda Vargas, died in the collision. Forty-three others were injured.

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An attorney for the Vargas family, David Fried, filed a notice claim against Paramus and the Paramus School Board.

"His driving record raises a lot of questions and potential areas we have to explore, as well as the negligence in allowing him to drive children," Fried said.

Williamson's husband, Kevin Kennedy, said he was "in shock, devastated and totally crushed" by his wife's death.

"My beautiful bride and I have been in total love every day of our lives since the day our eyes met," Kennedy said in a statement.

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