NJ School Van Driver Fired After Mom Posts Video Of Cellphone Use, Alleged Speeding To YouTube

LAKE COMO, N.J. (CBSNewYork/AP) -- A substitute school van driver has been fired after a student videotaped her using a cellphone to take photos of stuffed animals while behind the wheel, officials said.

The mother of the 16-year-old student posted the video to YouTube on Tuesday, saying her daughter texted her that she felt like she was going to get into an accident as they drove down the Garden State Parkway.

The student was being taken from Academy Charter High School in Lake Como to her home in Red Bank.

In the video, the driver can be seen taking photos of stuffed animals and looking at her phone multiple times. The student also said the van reached speeds of up to 80 miles per hour.

"When I saw the videos, I couldn't believe what I was seeing,'' said Jude Clough, the student's mother. "These people are paid by the school to take care of the kids.''

Clough said she was scared that if she didn't say something, "tomorrow there could be an accident where someone got hurt."

In a statement, the school said the substitute driver was fired by DAG Transport, which provides the school with transportation services through Monmouth-Ocean Educational Services Commission.

"Thankfully no one was injured and the driver will no longer have the opportunity to put the safety of other students in jeopardy," the statement said in part.

The school's director, Mary Jo McKinley, told the Asbury Park Press that school officials were "appalled'' by the driver's recklessness.

Upon hearing that the driver was subsequently fired, Clough said she thinks the penalty should've been stiffer.

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