MONTGOMERY – The female bus driver, who suffered a medical episode, slumped over and crashed her Warwick Central School District bus into a tree off I-84 in the Town of Montgomery on Friday evening, has died.
State Police said Denise Schmidt, 53, of Warwick was pronounced dead on Sunday.
The bus was carrying 22 female students ranging in age from 15 to 17, members of a school tennis team, and their coach. No one was hurt.
Investigation revealed that when Schmidt slumped over the steering wheel as the bus accelerated up the ramp at exit 5, soon to be exit 28, to merge onto I-84 westbound, the vehicle ran off the shoulder of the road and down into a small grassy ravine striking a tree causing front damage.
When troopers arrived at the scene, they found female students outside the bus and an adult male and a female student performing CPR on Schmidt. She was subsequently transported to Orange Regional Medical Center in the Town of Wallkill.
