The shocking incident in Albuquerque where a street-racing Mustang rammed a school bus caused seven children to need hospitalization, two of them seriously.
You can see the middle schoolers talking on the ride home, with some mingling between their seats. This is just a few moments before February 23rd impact. They are suddenly flung onto the bus, one after the next, sending their legs flailing as the vehicle turns on its side.
Mario Perez, 49 year old driver, was travelling at around 110 miles per hour, when Perez careened onto the back of the bus, near the rear wheel, just before 5pm. Moments before the accident, he was driving a Mustang white westbound along Gibson Boulevard.
Police have posted a speed limit of 40 mph on the streets. They are still looking for the driver in the Mustang, who fled the scene after the accident.
According to the Albuquerque Police Department, Perez was not drunk when he boarded the bus.
The hospital was able to take seven George I. Sanchez Collaborative School students for medical checkups. Two sustained serious injuries to their legs, including one with a broken femur, and 13-year-old Lula Maldanado suffered a pelvic fracture that required surgery, according to KOB 4.
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Twenty-three middle schoolers on their way home from George I. Sanchez Collaborative Community School can be seen chatting, some milling about the bus, in the moments before a street-racing Mustang careened into the bus February 23
Surveillance footage inside the bus shows that the Mustang struck the passenger side of it, hitting the children just as the bus tips.
Students were forced to cradle themselves on the sides of the bus, their legs flailing as it rolled towards them.
According to police, Mario Perez (49-year-old driver) was travelling at 110 mph when the bus hit him
Maldanado’s family confirmed that the operation was successful but they worry about the psychological effects the crash could have on Maldanado and her other children.
‘These kids are going to go through this trauma for a while because every time they get on the bus they’re going to remember what happened,’ said Alfred Lucero, Lyla’s grandfather. “It is something that sticks with them for awhile.
Mario Perez (pictured), 49, was arrested for two counts reckless driving causing severe bodily injury. This could lead to up to six years imprisonment
The driver of the school bus was also hurt.
The bus driver said that they were racing. There were actually two cars, one white and one Mustang. They are all completely damaged. They were speeding in each lane.
“And the guy had nowhere to go. So when I got across this guy was beating him so that he ran straight into my face.”
Perez was charged two times with reckless driving causing severe bodily injury. This could lead to up to six years imprisonment. On April 3, Perez was seen in a wheelchair equipped with braces to each leg.
KOB reported Perez’s release from prison on condition that he not drive.
Perez, who was in a wheelchair with two braces on his legs in court this month, has been released to await the trial. He must stay off the roads.
Perez and the blue Mustang driver were racing alongside police officers. The driver of the Mustang fled the scene following the horrendous crash.
A large number of parents and paramedics could be seen on the spot of the crash.
After the accident, Albuquerque mayor Tim Keller spoke out against the reckless driver.
“Those children could have drowned because the people on that bus were simply having fun in their sport cars,” Keller said. Keller spoke out at a press conference, saying that this should not have been allowed.
Perez’s wife and he live close to the spot where the accident occurred, at Messina Drive and Gibson Boulevard. KOB 4 was informed by Perez’s spouse that she believed he wasn’t at fault and she had heard that the bus was.
When she was asked by the outlet if her husband had ever been street racing, she replied that he hadn’t done it before.
“It’s true, he is a law-abiding man. He is passionate about his car. He’s not a danger to anyone or anything. He is very careful with everything.
Hours before the incident, Albuquerque Police Department had issued an announcement about a crackdown on dangerous drivers.
Eight states, including New York, New Jersey and Arkansas, require shoulder and lap belts to be worn on school buses. These include Texas, New Jersey and California. Only New Jersey requires that children wear these belts.
National Transportation Safety Board recommends that all school buses have three-point safety straps. The 42 states that do not have bus seatbelt laws should also include this recommendation.