QUEENS, NY – Tragedy struck in Queens on Friday morning when a 73-year-old woman was fatally hit by a school bus shortly after dropping her grandchildren off at school. The Bronx native, identified as Maria Rodriguez, was attempting to cross 86th Street, when the accident occurred around 7:30 a.m., according to police and the lady’s family. Reportedly, Rodriguez was struck by the bus as it was making a left turn from 107th Avenue in the Ozone Park neighborhood. Sadly, Rodriguez was pronounced dead at the scene.
Heartache was palpable when members of Rodriguez’s family arrived at the scene, visibly stricken with grief. Grandson Joel Rodriguez described his grandmother lovingly to CBS New York. “She was very lively, she was the happy person of the family… I don’t know how we’re going to do it for this Thanksgiving,” he shared tearfully.
Maria Rodriguez, though a Bronx resident, was in Queens visiting her daughter and lending a hand with family duties, including ferrying the kids to school. The police were unable to confirm immediately the presence of children on the bus during the unfortunate incident, however, ABC 7 reported that there were four kids on board, all under 12 years of age. Luckily, none of the children were injured.
The bus driver, identified as 47-year-old Maria Marte from East Elmhurst, remained at the scene of the accident. Marte has been officially charged with failing to yield to a pedestrian in addition to failure to exercise due care, say authorities.