Lakewood Bus Driver Arrested After Abandoning Wheel With 47 Girls on Board

What was supposed to be a joyful graduation trip turned into a nightmare for 47 girls and three adult chaperones traveling from Rhode Island to Bais Rivka Rochel School in Lakewood, New Jersey. The terrifying ordeal unfolded early Wednesday morning on the Garden State Parkway, where a commercial bus driver was arrested after allegedly abandoning the steering wheel while the vehicle was still in motion.

The driver, identified as 41-year-old Xiao Lei Lei Tian of Philadelphia, PA, is now facing 47 counts of child endangerment and several motor vehicle violations. According to authorities and multiple eyewitness accounts, Tian drove the bus erratically, swerving across lanes at high speeds and using a cell phone blatantly disregarding basic safety protocols. Most shockingly, he is reported to have left the wheel altogether, standing up and walking down the aisle of the moving bus, leaving the children unsupervised and at the mercy of a vehicle in motion.

Lakewood Alerts was among the first to report the incident, which has since sent shockwaves through the Lakewood community and beyond. Parents and educators expressed outrage and disbelief that such reckless behaviour could occur with a professional driver entrusted with the lives of children.

The chaos ended only when the bus came to an unexpected stop at the intersection of Cedar Bridge Avenue and New Hampshire Avenue in Lakewood, apparently because it ran out of fuel. A responding officer discovered the parked bus and was quickly informed by frantic passengers of the events that had transpired. Tian was arrested on the spot.

Thankfully, no injuries were reported, but the psychological toll on the children and adults involved cannot be understated. Many were left shaken by the incident, which could have resulted in catastrophic consequences.

Law enforcement officials have confirmed that an investigation into the full circumstances of the incident is still underway, including a review of Tian’s driving history and whether the bus company followed proper hiring and safety protocols.

Parents, school administrators, and local officials are now demanding stricter oversight of transportation services for school outings. The incident has renewed calls for more rigorous background checks, real-time monitoring of school bus routes, and better accountability for third-party bus contractors.

This near-tragedy has served as a stark reminder of the vulnerabilities children face even during routine school trips and shows the critical importance of stringent safety measures for group transportation.