newjerseynewsroom.com

BY BOB HOLT

NEWJERSEYNEWSROOM.COM

One of 65 teenagers going to a Sweet 16 party Friday was killed when he stuck his head out a party bus roof hatch and struck an overpass.

New York Daily News reported that 16-year-old Daniel Fernandez of Sayreville died of severe head trauma shortly after the incident. A spokesman for the Port Authority said Fernandez’s head struck the underside of the Fletcher Avenue overpass near the George Washington Bridge.

Alex Franco, 41, works as a security guard on the bus. He said the teenagers opened the hatch to cool off, and he warned them three or four times to keep it closed, according to the New York Post.

Investigators are looking into where Franco was when Fernandez was struck. According to an Associated Press report on ABC News, he said he went to the lower floor of the double-decker bus to tell the driver the bus was too hot.

Franco added that the teens were checked for alcohol before they got on the bus and none were served while they were inside.

Witnesses said the other teenagers appeared to be traumatized by the accident.

"Kids said they saw a lot of blood and they saw his head get struck,” said EMT Leon Tyrone McKivor, 52, according to the New York Post. “I could see the look on their faces. A handful were covered with blood.”

According to Cliffview Pilot, the roof hatch is emergency-only, and is supposed to have a safety seal. There was no word on whether the bus had a warning light on the dashboard that indicated the hatch was open.