NTSB releases preliminary report on school bus crash that killed child in Gibbstown, New Jersey

The National Transportation Safety Board released a preliminary report Thursday on the school bus crash in Gibbstown, New Jersey, that left a child dead in May. 

The fatal crash happened on May 8 just after 3:30 p.m. as kids were leaving school. 

According to the NTSB, a 2008 IC Corporation CE-300 Type C school bus had 28 kids aboard. The students ranged from kindergarteners to fifth graders from Broad Street Elementary School. 

A 48-year-old was driving the school bus, which is operated by Holcomb Bus Services for the Greenwich Township School District. 

The NTSB said the 48-year-old driver stopped the bus at the intersection of Bennett Street and Ashton Drive to let students exit. 

A 7-year-old boy and a 10-year-old girl exited the bus and walked along the sidewalk to the corner of Bennett Street and Ashton Drive, where they both stopped before crossing the street, according to the NTSB. 

While the two kids began to cross Ashton Drive, the bus moved and made a right turn onto the street, the NTSB said. When the bus turned, it fatally struck the 7-year-old boy, according to the NTSB. 

No one else was injured in the crash. 

The Gloucester County community has rallied around the family of the 7-year-old boy since the crash.

"This investigation was initiated to support the NTSB's continued interest in school bus safety," the NTSB said in the preliminary report. "The circumstances of this crash will be evaluated along with similar ongoing investigations with the intent of issuing safety recommendations to prevent similar events."