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A busy Elmhurst street corner turned unusually quiet last week after a school bus accident took the life of a 10-year-old boy.
Dante Alvaranga, accompanied by his mother Alicia Coleman, was on his way to P.S. 7 where he attended fourth grade. At 8 a.m., with the rain coming down heavily, both mother and son headed south across Broadway at the corner of Baxter Avenue.
In an instant, school bus driver Raymond Secreti rounded the rain-slicked corner and hit the unsuspecting pair. In the heavy downpour Secreti apparently did not notice the young boy until he was crushed beneath the weight of the bus’ rear tires. His mother, a 37-year-old nurse was sent flying upon impact but sustained only minor scrapes and bruises.
A frantic Coleman immediately rushed to her injured son’s side while emergency help raced to the dying boy’s aid. Coleman watched in horror as her youngest son went into shock as his lips turned pale white. Dr. Maria Molina was on her way to work at Elmhurst Hospital Center, just yards away, when she witnessed the tragic accident. The doctor ran to the youngster’s side while her husband called 911.
Reports said Alvaranga screamed desperately for the doctor’s help. Molina advised the distraught mother not to move her son, for fear of aggrevating the severe injuries. Ambulances arrived on the scene minutes later, and wheeled the boy by gurney directly into the emergency room at 8:17 a.m.
"He had massive traumatic injuries all over," said Lata Vasconcellos, a hospital spokeswoman. "His pelvis was crushed and he sustained injuries to his leg and lower abdominal." A trauma team of specialists from the hospital was brought in to treat Dante. But, the injuries were too severe and the fourth grader was pronounced dead at 9:53. Coleman was treated and released.
The frantic tension of the two hours eventually yielded to a scene of tears and grief. "We are all deeply saddened," said Vasconcellos. "Every one has to deal with it in their own way. This takes you away from your profession, and humanizes it. Many of us are parents and could easily see it happening to us."
Coleman, who immigrated from Paraguay in February to provide a better life for her sons Dante and Duilio, 13, was comforted at the hospital by Schools Chancellor Rudy Crew and her clergyman, Rev. Humberto Martinez of Faith Baptist Church in Elmhurst. Vasconcellos said Martinez would be handling all funeral arrangements.
When Coleman returned home to her parents’ 41st Avenue home, the apartment was still filled with purple and blue balloons and unwrapped presents. The decorations, remnants from Dante’s 10th birthday party last Saturday, served as a crushing reminder of happier times for the family. The boys’ grandmother, Dora Coleman, said her daughter was barely coping with the shocking tragedy and that the boys’ father, Duilio Coleman, would be flying in from Paraguay to mourn with the family.
Secreti, who said he had a green light when he made the tragic turn, was issued a summons for failing to yield to pedestrians. Police said that the mother and child had a walk signal and the right-of-way as they crossed Broadway.
Secreti had been driving for Brooklyn’s Mountainside Transportation Co. for the last eight years, and had not been involved in any previous accidents. "Weather was definitely a factor," said Mountainside Transportation owner Peter Rossi. "I don’t think he even saw them. It’s a tragedy, and that’s all I can say."
The 15 students on board the bus, heading toward Queens Occupational Training Center, a school for special education students, were not injured in the accident. Pam McDonnell, a spokeswoman for Chancellor Rudy Crew, said school officials sent counselors to the school later in the day.
Broadway, normally a very busy throughway, becomes even more congested in the early morning hours with students hustling to school and people rushing to work. But, City Councilman John Sabini said there have been no reported complaints about the corner of Baxter and Broadway. "It’s a complicated intersection the way Woodside Avenue meets, and with ambulances going to and from the hospital," he said. "These tragedies happen. We just have to try hard to prevent them."