By MADDY VITALE
A motorist who struck a school bus carrying Ocean City High School students at the intersection of 18th Street and Asbury Avenue on Tuesday was ticketed for running a stop light, authorities confirmed Friday.
Two of the 18 students on the bus suffered minor injuries and were treated at the scene by the fire department, according to a police report released by city spokesman Doug Bergen. The crash occurred near the Ocean City Intermediate School.
The driver of the car that hit the bus, Paul Cunningham, 56, of Ocean City, was taken Tuesday to AtlantiCare Regional Medical Center, Mainland Division, in Galloway Township, where he was treated and released.
Ocean City School Business Administrator Tim Kelley said in an email Friday that the school district “received a copy of the accident report this afternoon.”
“The report states that the driver of the car involved in the accident received a traffic summons, while the driver of the school bus did not,” Kelley said. “We continue to prioritize bus safety and are thankful that everyone involved in the accident is OK.”
He added that he is “not aware of traffic safety issues in that area.”
According to the police report, Cunningham was heading north on the 1800 block of Asbury Avenue prior of the crash. The school bus was traveling west in the 500 block of 18th Street prior of the crash.
Prior to the bus entering the intersection, the westbound traffic light was green. When the bus entered the intersection, it was suddenly struck by the vehicle driven by Cunningham, police said.
“The driver is found to have contributed to causing the crash by failure to observe a traffic signal,” the report reads.
