Fair Lawn Man Charged In School Bus Crash That Injured 2 Kids: Police

FAIR LAWN, NJ - A Bergen County man has been charged with driving under the influence during a Garden State Parkway crash with a minibus that injured two children on board, authorities said.

Ali Vlashi, of Fair Lawn, was charged with two counts of assault by auto and criminally being under the influence, a spokesperson for the New Jersey State Police confirmed to Patch.

Per a preliminary investigation, the minibus was traveling in the middle lane of the Garden State Parkway in Paramus while Vlashi, who was operating a Lexus, was traveling in the right lane.

After the Lexus changed lanes, it struck the front of the bus, causing the bus to lose directional control, police said. The crash prompted the bus to travel through the center median and across the southbound lanes.

13 children and two adults were on board the bus at the time of the crash, police said.

The injuries to the children were not considered to be serious, state police said. It was not immediately clear where the children went to school.

The investigation is currently ongoing.