Bus driver in fatal crash was ‘in proper travel lane’ when hit head-on, police say

COLTS NECK — The school bus involved in a fatal Monmouth County crash on Phalanx Road Tuesday was within it's proper travel lane when the fiery collision occurred, authorities said Wednesday.

Investigators say that the bus driven by 62-year-old Lorraine Filozof, of the Avenel section of Woodbridge, was in the westbound lane of the roadway when it was struck head-on by a 2004 Dodge Durango driven by a 77-year-old Colts Neck man, Monmouth County Prosecutor's Office spokesman Charlie Webster sad.

Following the crash, Filozof was taken to Jersey Shore University Medical Center in Neptune Township where she was pronounced dead.

Filozof, a driver for Helfrich & Sons of Keansburg, was operating a 16-passenger school bus heading westbound at around 2:26 p.m., when the collision occurred, Webster said. Upon impact with the Durango, the bus caught fire with Filozof and two bus passengers aboard, including a 61-year-old male school bus aide from Hazlet and a student from Manalapan, according to Webster.

The school bus aide and student both suffered non-life-threatening injuries. They were taken to the hospital where they were both treated and released.

The driver of the Durango, whose name has not been released, was kept overnight at the medical center for observation, authorities said.

The Monmouth County Serious Collision Analysis Response Team is continuing to investigate the crash along with the Colts Neck and Middletown police departments.

Toniann Antonelli is a social content producer for NJ 101.5. She can be reached at toniann.antonelli@townsquaremedia.com, or on Twitter @ToniRadio1015.

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