–12 Associated Press. “12th Victim.” Atlantic News-Telegraph, IA, 10-27-1959, p. 5.
–12 Quarterly of the NFPA. “Large Loss of Life Fires of 1959.” Vol. 53, July 1960, p. 30.
–11 AP. “Bus-Truck Crash Deaths Reach 11.” Syracuse Herald-American, NY. 10-13-1959, 25.
–10 AP. “Brakes of Crash Truck…Faulty.” Syracuse Herald-American, NY. 10-11-1959, p. 20.
–10 AP. “Trucker Has Record as Speeder. Post-Standard, Syracuse, NY. 10-10-1959, p. 2.
–10 UPI. “9 N.J. Teachers College Co-eds Burn to Death…” Dunkirk Observer, 10-9-1959, p1.
Narrative Information
NFPA: “Layton’s Bus Service and Cargill, Inc. (truck), New Brunswick, N.J., Oct. 9, 12:45 A.M., 12 Killed. Eighty students and three teachers from the Trenton State College (for teachers) were returning from an evening at a Broadway play in two buses. As one bus followed the other toward Trenton an empty semitrailer tank truck began moving up from behind. The driver, who may have been on duty as much as 61 of the last 66 3/4 hours, had been dispatched from Long Island to pick up a load of paint oil in Philadelphia. A light mist and fog were present but this did not obscure visibility and the pavement was almost dry. As the buses approached a slightly depressed intersection, the traffic light there flicked to amber. The first bus was able to proceed through, but the second had to slow down to stop. The trailer truck did not slow down and rammed the rear of the bus at an estimated 35 miles per hour.
“The bus’s 120 gallon fuel tank contained approximately 70 gallons of gasoline. This fuel tank was mounted under the floor of the bus just forward of the rear seat. As the truck’s bumper tore into the rear of the bus the fuel tank was mashed. An 18-inch rip in the tank resulted in most of the gasoline being sprayed into the interior of the bus. The vapors ignited.
“Because of these sudden flames, the occupants panicked; four girls escaped from the side-mounted emergency door, most of the remaining students pushed forward and out the main entrance door in the front. Fortunately these doors had not been jammed in the crash. Ten persons, one a faculty member, could not escape in time. Two of the girls who did escape were so badly burned that they subsequently died. The truck driver was pinned by his ankle in the truck cab but was rescued by the fire department.
“The truck driver is reported to have received ten written traffic violations in the three states of N.Y., Pa. and. N.J. for speeding (3), passing red lights (2), passing signal lights (1), failing to keep to the right (1), failing to comply with an officer’s signal (1), and operating without lights, or with defective lights (2).
“At the time of the accident the truck showed no signs of slowing or braking. An after-the-fire examination of the brakes revealed defects. The ICC investigation of the accident concludes in part ‘this accident with its tragic results was caused by the operation of a property-carrying vehicle by a driver who was not alert and who otherwise was of questionable suitability and competence’.” (Quarterly, NFPA. “Large Loss of Life Fires of 1959.” V53, July 1960, 30-32.)
UPI, Oct 10: “North Brunswick, N.J. (UPI) – Nine coeds and a professor burned to death early today when a tank truck smashed into the rear of a bus bringing Trenton State College girls home from a theater party. A tank truck driven by Roscoe Poe, 54, of Brooklyn, plowed into the rear of the bus, state police said. The bus’s gasoline tank exploded with a tremendous roar, sending flames racing through the vehicle. The truck also burst into flames. The bus and truck were swiftly charred almost beyond recognition. The bodies of the 10 dead were so blackened they could not be identified immediately. Vincent Lynch, a New Brunswick fireman, said “it looked like a 500-pound bomb hit the bus.” Another fireman said, “the top melted right off the bus.” Observers said there was no apparent panic, although the girls piled against the front door…
“The tank truck had been empty at the time of the collision, but was filled with combustible fumes that added to the fury of the fire, state police said….
“State police said another bus, also carrying some 41 students back to Trenton, had just passed the light before it turned red. The second bus had to wait — and was rammed by the truck.
“Rain poured down on the accident scene, south of the New Brunswick circle in this Middlesex County community. The sickening odor of charred flesh filled the air as rescue workers took away the dead, dying and injured….
“The blackened skeleton of the bus stood in the left lane of the west-bound side of the highway. The truck was in the right lane, almost directly behind it….
“Unable to question the injured bus driver, state police could not say why the truck had crashed into the bus….
List of Dead
“North Brunswick, N.J. (UPI) – Officials of Trenton State College said today the following persons were missing and feared dead in the crash of a tanker and a bus:
Miss Rae Steinberg, 665 Randolph St., Camden.
Miss Jane McCormack, 119 Tindall Rd., Middleton.
Miss Nancy Raub, 173 Canterbury St., North Arlington.
Miss Judy Tettemonti, 346 Marshal St., Phillipsburg.
Miss Pearl Wright. RD 1. Bridgeton.
Miss Yolanda Benson, Robertsville Rd., Freehold.
Miss Beverly Allen, 14 Walcott Ter., Newark.
Miss Dorothy Pinchak, 441 E. M St., Paterson.
Miss Arlene Mayer, 61 Newman Ave., Verona.
Prof. Ernest Sixta, Clinton Ave. Trenton.”
(UPI, North Brunswick (Gar Kaganovich). “9 N.J. Teachers College Co-eds Burn to Death in Bus-Truck Crash.” Dunkirk Evening Observer, Dunkirk-Fredonia, NY, 10-9-59, p. 1.)
AP, Oct 10: “North Brunswick, N.J. (AP)…. The driver Roscoe Poe, 54, of Brooklyn, N.Y., faces a mandatory charge of causing death by auto….
“Forty girls, the professor and driver were on the ill-fated bus, and 44 on the bus ahead. The two buses were headed for the Trenton campus along U.S. Rt. 1. They were just outside New Brunswick, about 40 miles southwest of New York and about 20 miles from the college….The first bus rolled through while the light was amber. The second bus slowed to a halt. The truck rolled down the rain-swept highway and plowed into the rear of the bus at about 35 miles an hour. The bus was knocked into the other lane and its gas tank exploded….
“Trenton, N.J. (AP) – The New Jersey Motor Vehicle Division said Friday the driver of the truck that crashed into a college bus loaded with coeds at North Brunswick early Friday had two speeding convictions in New Jersey. The division said Roscoe Poe, 54, Brooklyn. N.Y., was arrested Dec. 29, 1954, for speeding 70 miles an hour on the New Jersey Turnpike, and fined $10 in Miltown Township Court. Limit on the turnpike is 60. The second violation, the division said, occurred Aug. 31, 1956, when Poe was arrested for speeding on U.S. Route 1. for going 57 mph in a 50 mph zone.
“In New York, a spokesman for the state motor vehicle bureau said Poe had ‘several’ convictions
on his record between 1955 and 1959 for violations such as failing to halt at a stop sign. The bureau said Poe had no speeding convictions, however, and under New York’s point system, had not accumulated enough points to be classified as a persistent violator. The spokesman said the violations had occurred both in trucks and in Poe’s private car.
“The Pennsylvania Bureau of Highway Safety listed the following record for Poe: May 8, 1957. stopped by state police in Lower Merion Township, Montgomery County, for doing 60 miles an hour in 50 mile an hour zone. Written warning issued. Nov. 3, 1958, stopped by Philadelphia City Police for going through a red light. Written warning issued. Jan. 12, 1959, stopped by state police in Hempfield, Westmoreland County, for operating without rear lights during hours of darkness. Trooper verbally advised him to correct situation.” (AP. “Trucker Has Record as Speeder. 9 Coeds, Teacher Die in Truck-Bus Crash.” Post-Standard, Syracuse NY. 10-10-59, 2.)
AP, Oct 11: “New Brunswick, N.J. (AP) — The brakes of the truck that collided with a chartered bus killing nine coeds and a college professor were found to be faulty upon inspection Saturday [Oct 10]. George Soriano, of the Middlesex County prosecutor’s office, said a garage inspection showed there was enough grease on the brake lining to enable the left front wheel to roll freely with the brake on….
“Roscoe Poe, driver of the truck, declined to give police a statement Saturday. Police attempted to question Poe in Middlesex General Hospital but quoted him as saying: “I don’t want to make a statement. I don’t want to give you anything about it unless my lawyer is present.” State Trooper Russell MacArthur said he went to the hospital only to get Poe’s version of the accident. But, he said, Poe refused to give any description of what took place. No formal charges have been filed against Poe.
“Poe said earlier that the traffic light of the intersection on Route 1 where the accident occurred was green as the vehicles approached it.
“A truck driver in another vehicle following Poe said Poe was going about 35 miles per hour. Four other witnesses including three auto drivers and the drivers of the lead bus of the two-bus caravan confirmed the speed estimate.
“Poe also claimed he did not see any lights on the rear of the bus. Joseph Layton, owner of the line, claimed the lights were operating. Layton, head of the Layton Bus Service of Trenton, said three individual lighting systems operated in the rear of the bus. There were lights at the top, called marker lights, two stop lights and the regular tail lights, Layton said. All these systems have indicators on the dashboard and the driver would have known if the lights were inoperative, he said….
“Three of the 11 students injured in the wreck were still in critical condition.” (AP. “Brakes of Crash Truck Were Faulty.” Syracuse Herald-American, NY. 10-11-1959, p. 20.)
Oct 13: “New Brunswick, N.J. (AP) – Friday’s bus-truck collision in North Brunswick claimed its 11th victim today. Linda Mollov, 17, of West Orange died in Middlesex General Hospital of injuries suffered in the crash.” (AP. “Bus-Truck Crash Deaths Reach 11.” Syracuse Herald-American, NY. 10-13-1959, p. 25.)
Oct 15: “New Brunswick, N.J. (AP) — Charges of manslaughter and reckless driving were to be filed by state police today against truck driver Roscoe Poe. Poe refused again Monday to tell police anything of last Friday’s accident in North Brunswick…A trooper and a detective of the state police questioned Poe at his bedside in Middlesex General Hospital but he said he would give no information until he retained a lawyer. The 54-year-old Brooklyn, N. Y., man is recovering from injuries he suffered when his truck rammed into the rear of a bus loaded with Trenton State College girls….
“One coed remains in critical condition at Middlesex General.
“Police said an investigation of the charred remains of the truck showed its brakes were no better than 50 per cent efficient.
“In Newark Monday, Essex County Republican Senate Candidate Alfred C. Clapp, a former judge, called for a major revision of state regulations of commercial motor vehicles as a result of the accident. He and 12 assembly candidates on the Essex GOP ticket urged a program that would require physical examinations of commercial drivers, reciprocal agreement between states to exchange driving records of such drivers, on the spot safety examinations of out-of-state vehicles, lower speed limits and stricter regulations requiring trucks to keep to the right….” (AP. “Manslaughter Charges in Bus Deaths.” Indiana Evening Gazette, PA. 10-15-1959, p. 11.)
Oct 19: “Washington (UPI) — Sen. Clifford P. Case, aroused by the deaths of nine [ten] coeds and a college professor in a flaming truck-bus collision, urged Congress Sunday to make highway safety one of its first items of business next session. The New Jersey Republican called the bus-truck accident ‘a frightful reminder of a situation which demands urgent attention.’ He said Congress must do everything possible to help states develop minimum standards both for drivers and vehicles. Case made clear that he favored, among other things, a nationwide “clearing house” which would enable state authorities to exchange information on drivers who repeatedly run afoul of the traffic laws and constitute a threat to other drivers. Case advanced his proposal in a letter to Chairman Warren G. Magnuson (D-Wash.) of the Senate Commerce Committee which would handle any legislation dealing with highway safety problems. Case also is a member of the committee.
“The accident cited by the senator occurred at New Brunswick….The truck driver, 54-year-old Roscoe Poe…had been taking his empty truck back to Philadelphia after delivering a cargo to New York….
“In proposing a nationwide clearing house on traffic violation data, the senator said investigation showed the truck driver had been ‘convicted of eight moving violations in three states since 1954…’ Case said the driver’s license ‘undoubtedly would have been revoked,’ barring him from the highways, if all eight accidents had occurred in any one state. He said there also should be national minimum safety standards for both drivers and vehicles ‘in the interests of adequate protection of the public safety’.” (UPI (Joseph Hutnyan). “Senator Case Decries Coed’s Death, Urges Congress Make Highway Safety Primary Business in Next Session.” Galveston News, TX. 10-19-1959, p. 13.)
Oct 20: Editorial: “We commend Sen. Clifford P. Case (R-NJ) for his fast response to the grim lesson delivered by the truck-bus collision on Oct. 9 in New Jersey, which took the lives of 10 co-eds and a professor. Sen. Case has called on the senate’s interstate commerce committee to conduct an investigation which could lead to a nation-wide point system for all traffic violators. Such a point system would establish a uniform national total of violation scores. If the total reaches the danger point, it would deprive the driver of his license in all states, once and for all. There is no such uniform point system now in existence throughout the nation. That was the grim lesson of the crash in North Brunswick, N. J.
“Three states had part of the bad driving record of the Brooklyn truck driver, Roscoe Poe, 54, but none of them had tallied up the total and yanked his license; nor could they have, under existing laws. This situation calls for quick and drastic remedy. Our roads stretch for thousands of miles through 50 states. If a man or woman is a menace in one state he’s a menace everywhere.
“A nation-wide point system may encounter administrative problems and some political opposition, but none of it should be allowed to overshadow the potential benefits.
“William Randolph Hearst Jr., as chairman of the president’s committee for traffic safety, recently warned that “this year we are on our way to an all-time high in traffic deaths.”
“Sen. Case’s plan for a uniform point system to take potentially dangerous drivers off the highways makes sense.” (The Light, San Antonio, TX. “Dangerous Drivers (editorial).” 10-20-1959, p. 24.)
Oct 27: “New Brunswick, N.J. (AP). The crash of a truck and a bus in North Brunswick, Oct. 9, has claimed its 12th victim. Dorothy Weismantel, 19, critically burned in the accident, died in St. Peter’s Hospital Monday. Ten of her fellow students at Trenton State College and a professor lost their lives in the wreck.” (AP. “12th Victim.” Atlantic News-Telegraph, IA, 10-27-1959, p. 5.)
Oct 30: “New Jersey officials are on the right track toward more effective enforcement of traffic, laws in proposing interstate reciprocity agreements to crack down on motorists who are habitual violators. The move has come in the wake of disclosures that the driver of the truck that rammed a bus near New Brunswick, N. J., had a record of 10 fines or warnings for traffic violations in three states during the last five years….
“The truck driver, it is reported by police, has been stopped by law-enforcement authorities six times for ignoring red lights or stop signs, three times for speeding and once for driving at night without proper lights. The alleged violations occurred in Pennsylvania, New Jersey and New York. If they had all happened in one State the driver might have lost his license.
“There is need for a reciprocal arrangement whereby states would exchange records of traffic violations and take appropriate action against the drivers on the basis of their total offenses. Certainly a driver who repeatedly breaks the law is ho less a menace because his violations are scattered over several states.” (Lowell Sun, MA. “Interstate Control (editorial).” 10-30-1959, 5.)
Nov 30: “Newark, N.J. (AP) – The owner and the operator of the truck involved in the disastrous North Brunswick bus crash Oct. 9 have been charged with 71 violations of Interstate Commerce Commission safety rules. The two companies were named defendants Monday in an information [?] filed in federal district court. The truck driver himself, Roscoe Poe, 54, of Brooklyn, N. Y., was not made a defendant.
“U. S. Atty. Chester A. Weidenburner charged that Foe’s employers required him to drive while “his ability and alertness were impaired through fatigue” and sent him out in an unsafe vehicle. Weidenburner said an ICC [Interstate Commerce Commission] investigation showed Poe’s work schedule gave him only two hours sleep in the 36 hours before the crash. And he said the condition of the truck’s brakes made a safe stop questionable even if Poe had been alert. “The tractor had been driven 63,000 miles without effective maintenance, the brakes were corroded, brake rims covered with grease and brake linings improperly installed,” Weidenburner said. He said the air brake system on the tractor also had ruptures, making it ineffective. Furthermore, said Weidenburner, a picnic cooler on the cab floor made it impossible for the driver to reach an emergency air brake valve….
File 39 Counts
“Cardill Inc. of Philadelphia operated the truck and employed Poe. It was named defendant in all 71 counts. Named in 39 counts was the Maspeth Truck Leasing Corp. of Long Island City. N. Y., and its operator, Abe Samuels of Brooklyn, N.Y. Eleven of the 71 counts concern the North Brunswick crash. The others charge violations on trips the tank trailer made between last Jan. 1 and the date of the crash. The defendants probably will be arraigned Nov. 13, Weidenburner said. If convicted, Cargill Inc. faces $35,500 in fines, the Long Island firm $19,500 and Samuels $19,500.
“Weidenburner said the action does not affect a Middlesex County grand jury investigation of the tragedy. Poe already has been charged with manslaughter there.” (AP. “Charge Owner, Operator With 71 Code Violations in Crash Fatal to Co-eds.” Gettysburg Times, PA. 11-3-59, 4.)
March 5: “Washington (UPI) – The Interstate Commerce Commission Friday blamed a highway accident at New Brunswick. N. J., last Oct 9, which took the lives of 11 coeds and one teacher, on “lack of alertness” of a truck driver. The ICC said that as a result of its investigation of the bus-truck collision, it has filed criminal charges in Federal Court in Newark against Cargill Inc., of Minneapolis, Minn., a firm which leased the truck involved from Maspeth Truck Leasing Corp., of Long Island City, N. Y. Maspeth and Abe Samuels, one of its employes, also were charged with failing to discharge their responsibility to maintain the vehicle in proper condition….The commission said that truck driver Roscoe Poe of Brooklyn, N. Y., apparently was suffering from accumulated fatigue as a result of long working hours. It also questioned his fitness to operate the vehicle on the basis of a record which included 10 recorded traffic violations within the five years previous to the accident. Poe suffered burns and severe leg injuries. The ICC also said the brakes on the truck were defective and the vehicle was not up to normal safety standards in other ways.” (UPI. “Truck Driver Blamed in Highway Tragedy.” Lima News, OH. 3-5-1960, p. 4.)
April 30: “New Brunswick, N.J. (UPI) – Roscoe Poe, 54, was sentenced Friday to a year in jail and fined $I,000 in the deaths of 11 college girls and a professor in a collision Oct. 9. Roscoe Poe, 54, of New York pled no defense. His empty tanker truck rammed the rear of a bus. He lost his left leg. Nine Trenton State college coeds and Prof. Ernest Sixta, formerly of Cedar Rapids, Ia., their chaperon, were killed. Two more girls died later….” (UPI, New Brunswick, NJ. “Trucker in Sixta Wreck Sentenced.” Cedar Rapids Gazette, IA. 4-30-1960, p. 1.)
2008: “….The accident helped prompt New York to adopt a universal inspection policy. New Jersey lawmakers debated the virtues of separate speed limits for commercial trucks, but decided instead on no-truck lanes on major highways….
“Three students were listed in critical condition after the crash. Seventeen-year-old Linda Mollov
of West Orange and Doris Weismantel, 19, of Newark, died of burn injuries. Only the third, Josephine Brancolino, an 18-year-old who lived at 1600 Prospect St., Trenton, survived….her face was badly disfigured. She spent months in the hospital and had numerous surgeries….Relatives estimate she had 100 operations. She received approximately $100,000 in a settlement from Maspeth Truck Leasing Co….Brancolino died in 1998….” (Chris Baud. “1959: Class trip turns to fiery death.” The Trentonian, 1-18-2008.)
An account which provides brief biographies of most of the fatalities is: TCNJ Magazine. “Looking Back: 1959 Bus Tragedy.” 10-28-2009. http://www.tcnjmagazine.com/?p=1986
Sources
Associated Press. “12th Victim.” Atlantic News-Telegraph, IA, 10-27-1959, p. 5. Accessed at: http://newspaperarchive.com/fullpagepdfviewer?img=197175372&sterm=brunswick+bus+poe
Associated Press. “Brakes of Crash Truck Were Faulty.” Syracuse Herald-American, NY. 10-11-1959, p. 20. At: http://newspaperarchive.com/fullpagepdfviewer?img=22477217&sterm=
Associated Press. “Bus-Truck Crash Deaths Reach 11.” Syracuse Herald-American, NY. 10-13-1959, p. 25. At: http://newspaperarchive.com/fullpagepdfviewer?img=22477375&sterm=truck
Associated Press. “Charge Owner, Operator With 71 Code Violations in Crash Fatal to Co-eds.” Gettysburg Times, PA. 11-3-59, 4. At: http://newspaperarchive.com/fullpagepdfviewer?img=14304924&sterm
Associated Press. “Manslaughter Charges in Bus Deaths.” Indiana Evening Gazette, PA. 10-15-1959, p. 11. At: http://newspaperarchive.com/fullpagepdfviewer?img=115722327&sterm=truck
Associated Press. “Trucker Has Record as Speeder. 9 Coeds, Teacher Die in Truck-Bus Crash.” Post-Standard, Syracuse, NY. 10-10-1959, p. 2. Accessed 10-29-2014 at: http://newspaperarchive.com/fullpagepdfviewer?img=20067275&sterm=truck+bus
Baud, Chris. “1959: Class trip turns to fiery death.” The Trentonian, 1-18-2008. Accessed 10-30-2014 at: http://www.capitalcentury.com/1959.html
Lowell Sun, MA. “Interstate Control (editorial).” 10-30-1959, 5. Accessed 10-30-2014 at: http://newspaperarchive.com/fullpagepdfviewer?img=55260702&sterm=brunswick+bus+poe
National Fire Protection Association. “Large Loss of Life Fires of 1959.” Quarterly of the National Fire Protection Association, Vol. 53, July 1960, pp. 7-38.
TCNJ Magazine. “Looking Back: 1959 Bus Tragedy.” 10-28-2009. Accessed 10-30-2014 at: http://www.tcnjmagazine.com/?p=1986
The Light, San Antonio, TX. “Dangerous Drivers (editorial).” 10-20-1959, p. 24. Accessed at: http://newspaperarchive.com/fullpagepdfviewer?img=69008260&sterm=brunswick+bus+poe
United Press International, North Brunswick (Gar Kaganovich). “9 N.J. Teachers College Co-eds Burn to Death in Bus-Truck Crash.” Dunkirk Evening Observer, Dunkirk-Fredonia, NY, 10-9-59, p. 1. Accessed 10-29-2014: http://newspaperarchive.com/fullpagepdfviewer?img=130413775
United Press International, Washington (Joseph Hutnyan). “Senator Case Decries Coed’s Death, Urges Congress Make Highway Safety Primary Business in Next Session.” Galveston News, TX. 10-19-1959, p. 13. At: http://newspaperarchive.com/fullpagepdfviewer?img=46013678&sterm
United Press International. “Truck Driver Blamed in Highway Tragedy.” Lima News, OH. 3-5-1960, p. 4. At: http://newspaperarchive.com/fullpagepdfviewer?img=16086016&sterm=
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