iStock/Thinkstock(PARAMUS) — The driver of the school bus involved in a deadly highway crash in New Jersey last week had a lengthy history of license suspensions and moving violations, according to a New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission spokesperson.
The driver, identified as 77-year-old Hudy Muldrow Sr., has a valid driver’s license that’s not currently suspended. He has no active points and has the appropriate commercial license to drive a school bus.
However, the spokesperson for the NJ Motor Vehicle Commission told ABC-owned station WABC-TV Tuesday that since getting his driver’s license in 1975, Muldrow had a total of 14 suspensions, eight speeding tickets, a careless driving ticket and a ticket for an improper turn in 2010. He began driving school buses in 2013
The license was most recently suspended in December 2017 for parking violations in Jersey City. His license was restored in January.
The suspensions also included two in January 2012 — one for unpaid parking tickets and one for being an uninsured driver, either having no insurance or a canceled registration.
Seven of the eight speeding tickets were for two points, which means he was driving 14 mph over the speed limit or less, the spokesperson said. The eighth speeding ticket occurred in 1989 and was for four points — driving 15-29 mph over the limit.
His most recent speeding violation occurred in 2001.
Muldrow’s other violations included a December 2010 improper lane change, for improper operation on a highway with marked lanes in North Bergen, a March 2009 careless-driving offense in Fair Lawn, and a January 1977 violation for an improper turn.
At least one incident involved a crash, but Muldrow’s role in the crash was unclear, according to the spokesperson.
Muldrow’s son, Hudy Muldrow Jr., told NJ.com that his father was OK and was a good driver.
“That’s the truth,” he said.
When Hudy Muldrow Jr. was asked about his father’s driving violations, he said: “I don’t know anything about that. I have nothing else to say.”
On Thursday, a student and a teacher from East Brook Middle School in Paramus, New Jersey, were killed when the bus driven by Hudy Muldrow Sr. collided with a dump truck and slammed off a New Jersey highway, authorities said. The bus was filled with fifth-graders.
Authorities were investigating whether the school bus driver had made an illegal U-turn before the deadly crash, officials told ABC News.
East Brook Middle School identified the victims as Miranda Vargas and Jennifer Williamson, a teacher, in a post on its Facebook page.
Miranda, 10, was a fifth-grader and Williamson had taught at the school for 20 years, according to WABC-TV.
Photos from the scene showed the bus on its side in the median of Route 80 near Mount Olive Township, about 50 miles west of New York City.
David Fried, an attorney representing the Miranda Vargas’s family, said on Tuesday that he had filed a notice of claim against Paramus and the Paramus School Board.
Hudy Muldrow Sr.’s “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.
No charges have been filed, and the case is still under active investigation, authorities told ABC News.
Copyright © 2018, ABC Radio. All rights reserved.