Bus driver not guilty in West New York crash that killed infant
Toni Yates reports on the deadly crash that killed a young girl in West New York (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)
By Toni Yates
Updated 1 hr 11 mins ago
JERSEY CITY, New Jersey (WABC) -- A jitney bus driver who crashed into a light pole that struck and killed an infant in New Jersey is not guilty of vehicular homicide.
A judge on Thursday said prosecutors failed to prove their case against 52-year-old Idowu Daramola of Jamaica, New York.
Authorities said Daramola was speeding and using his cellphone when he veered off Boulevard East in West New York in 2013, triggering a chain reaction accident. The bus struck a light pole, which fell onto a stroller, killing 8-month old Angelie Paredes.
Daramole broke down as the child's mother testified on Wednesday.
Prosecutors argued that Darmola was driving the bus despite not taking a required 10-hour break between shifts, and that he was talking on his cellphone at the time of the crash.
But his lawyer argued there was no evidence his client was using a cellphone or acting recklessly -- and the judge agreed.
Daramola's attorney said phone records show the phone was in use only after the accident.
Daramola was facing at least ten years in prison if convicted. He was released after the verdict reading and is now a free man.
The ruling deeply pained Maylin Hago, the child's mother, who sat inconsolable in the courtroom for the verdict and watched Daramola leave the defendant's table, shouting to him, "You killed her, you killed my little girl."
The incident led to tougher regulations for jitneys named for Angelie.
"The facts were presented, the court made its decision and we accept the court's decision," said Hudson County Prosecutor Esther Suarez in response to the verdict.
(The Associated Press contributed to this report.)