It happened near Springfield and Sanford avenues in Irvington, New Jersey.
Fire Chief John Tierney said nearly a dozen elementary school children and two adults were aboard the bus when the vehicle t-boned an SUV and collided into Home Liquors, which was closed at the time of the crash.
He said some of the children were special needs students on their way to a summer program.
All the passengers — 11 children and three adults, the drivers of the bus and SUV and the bus monitor — were rushed to a hospital with serious but non-life threatening injuries ranging from cuts to broken bones.
The Irvington superintendent of schools Dr. Neely Hackett responded to the scene and the district notified parents of their children’s injuries.
A witness who works at a bodega across the street said she ran to the bus to help those inside.
Surveillance video shows the school bus and an SUV pressed against each other speeding through the intersection. That SUV may have been clipped by the bus and it appears to have sustained major damage. Moments later, the bus slams into the building.
What caused the crash is under investigation. Police are looking into reports by the driver, who works for Horizon Link, that her brakes gave out causing her to lose control.
