Driver in Wayne Bus Crash Broke Federal Regulations, Trooper Testifies

According to a state trooper’s testimony in court Friday, the bus driver who crashed on a Route 80 off ramp in Wayne in 2012, injuring 23 people, had driven too many hours before the crash, NorthJersey.com reported.

The driver, Neville Larmont of Toronto, is being tried in Wayne municipal court for violating federal transportation regulations and failure to maintain lane, the report said.

Trooper Danny Ross, who investigated the accident, testified Friday that Larmont broke two federal bus driving regulations, the “10-Hour Rule” and the “15-Hour Rule,” the report said. By law, bus drivers can drive no more than 10 consecutive hours, and can be on duty no more than 15 hours in any 24-hour period, it said.

According to the report, Ross submitted time sheets from two different Canadian bus companies, Canada Cartage and AVM Max 2000 Charter Services Inc., as evidence. The sheets show Larmont driving for one company the day before the crash, then leaving on the second bus, which was headed for Brooklyn, at 5:30 p.m. on Oct. 5, the report said.

"He should have stopped [working] at 11:30 p.m. the night before he crashed," Ross reportedly said in court. "Instead he worked through the night."

Larmont’s attorney argued that time sheets are not admissible evidence, but the township prosecutor disagreed, and the judge sided with the prosecutor, NorthJersey.com reported.

The trial was adjourned when a second state trooper expected to testify was not at the court hearing, the report said. A second court date has not yet been scheduled. 

The off-route crash injured 23 people. Eight were critically injured, including Larmont.