MAMARONECK, NY — The driver of a mini school bus who a toddler and his mother beaten and killed while walking to school in a New York City suburb, will not face criminal charges but was issued a ticket for failing to yield to pedestrians and for using his cellphone minutes before the crash, police said Friday.
The 68-year-old driver will keep his job and can get back behind the wheel when the school year starts next week, police in the Westchester County town of Mamaroneck said. according to the Journal News.
The accident happened around 8:30 a.m. on June 20, as Molly Murphy Donovan, 43, and her 6-year-old son, Michael Donovan Volpe, were walking to school.
The minivan driven by the 68-year-old struck the mother and child about a half block from Mamaroneck Avenue Elementary School. The boy was pronounced dead at the scene and the mother died of her injuries at a hospital.
A report released Friday by Westchester County police said the driver may have been distracted by an ambulance with lights and sirens blaring as it responded to another call.
Police said the driver had been using his cell phone less than two minutes before the crash, but was not on his phone when he hit the mother and child.
A request for comment was sent to school bus company Royal Coach Lines.