Prosecutors: Bus Driver Charged In Jersey City Boy's Death Had License Suspended
JERSEY CITY, N.J. (CBSNewYork/AP) -- A bus driver charged with fatally striking an 11-year-old boy last week has numerous personal and commercial license suspensions and shouldn't have been driving, prosecutors said.
Raul Delatorre-Galarza was driving the small, private bus that fatally struck George Gonzalez in Jersey City as he crossed a street to catch his school bus, authorities said.
The sixth grader was running late when he was struck trying to cross busy Kennedy Boulevard near Neptune Avenue. He had already left home, but turned back to get his football jersey – he had a game after school.
"He forgot his jersey," said the boy's uncle, Nelson Rodriguez, told CBS2 last week. "He gave us a call to bring his jersey down."
George's family said the was crossing the street like he does every day when the bus hit him and dragged his body across the intersection.
The boy died at a hospital.
Prosecutors said Monday Delatorre-Galarza has had his commercial license suspended four times and his personal license suspended five times.
Delatorre-Galarza's attorney says his client's suspensions stem from unpaid parking tickets and that he was unaware of the most recent suspension until after the crash.
Delatorre-Galarza's bail has been lowered from $50,000 to $30,000.
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