Two women were injured Tuesday evening when an NJ Transit bus struck them in a crosswalk on State Street in Hackensack, New Jersey, leaving one pedestrian pinned beneath a bus wheel with significant leg injuries.
According to the Hackensack Police Department, the September 8, 2026, bus accident happened near 170 State Street shortly before 6:30 p.m. Both women were taken to nearby Hackensack University Medical Center with injuries that were not believed to be life-threatening. According to the police, the NJ Transit bus driver was issued a summons for failing to yield to pedestrians within the crosswalk.
According to New Jersey law, pedestrians crossing within a crosswalk have the right of way, and all motor vehicles, including cars, trucks, and buses, must yield the right of way to them. Bus drivers, especially New Jersey Transit bus operators, are trained to be extra vigilant as they approach intersections; however, as is the case here, even the most experienced bus drivers can be negligent in performing their duties. Nevertheless, as an employee of New Jersey Transit, as a New Jersey State instrumentality and public entity, it is responsible for the negligence of its employees, making New Jersey responsible for all past and future medical care and bills, pain, suffering, lost wages, and disfigurement.
Personal injury cases against public authorities, such as a city, county, or New Jersey, are subject to special rules under the New Jersey Tort Claims Statute. To sue New Jersey Transit, a special Notice of Claim on a special form must be filed with the appropriate agency and received within ninety (90) days of the accident. The state will then have six months from the date of notice received by New Jersey Transit to investigate the claim, during which time no lawsuit will be permitted. After the expiration of the six-month period, a lawsuit must be filed within two years from the bus accident date. There are additional threshold requirements. A person’s injuries must be permanent, and their medical bills must exceed $3,600.
However, negligence must still be proven, and for that reason, it is a good idea to hire an experienced lawyer who is a personal injury litigation expert with experience working with bus accident reconstruction experts and medical experts to prove their case.
According to Garry R. Salomon, an attorney certified by the Supreme Court of New Jersey as a Civil Trial Attorney and a founding partner at Davis, Saperstein & Salomon, P.C., a New Jersey’s personal injury law firm headquartered in Teaneck, New Jersey, “it is never too soon to hire a qualified personal injury lawyer to visit the accident scene to gather evidence including video footage, interview potential witnesses and reconstruct all of the events leading up to the collision with the innocent pedestrian.” Salomon should know because throughout his career he has represented many accident victims injured by negligent bus drivers, including several injured by New Jersey Transit bus drivers. Salomon went on to say, “Years ago I represented a motorcyclist who collided with a bus that cut him off, causing serious injuries, including a severe
crush injury to his leg.” Despite the bus company blaming Salomon’s client, he and attorney Adam Lederman, Esq., settled the case for $5.4 million with the help of a respected accident reconstruction expert.
New Jersey Laws Protecting Pedestrians in Crosswalks
New Jersey law gives pedestrians important protections in crosswalks. Under N.J.S.A. 39:4-36, drivers must stop and remain stopped for a pedestrian crossing in a marked crosswalk. Drivers must also use reasonable care to avoid hitting pedestrians. According to the New Jersey Department of Transportation, when a vehicle hits someone within a marked crosswalk, a court or jury may find that the driver failed to use proper care.
In this Hackensack crash, police said the NJ Transit bus driver was issued a summons for failing to yield to pedestrians in the crosswalk. That citation may be important evidence, but it does not automatically decide who is legally responsible for the injuries or how much money may be available. An experienced New Jersey personal injury attorney, such as the partners and attorneys at Davis, Saperstein & Salomon, P.C., will preserve evidence such as interior bus and street-camera video, review the official police report, and obtain witness statements, evidence necessary to prove how the crash happened. At the same time, they will document the pedestrian’s pain and suffering as they recover from their injuries.
Decades of Bus Accident Experience Here in Bergen County
Davis, Saperstein & Salomon, P.C. has deep roots in the Hackensack and Bergen County community. The firm was founded in 1988, initially located in Hackensack and spent more than a decade on River Street before moving to nearby Teaneck. The firm continues to represent only injured people throughout New Jersey and New York and does not represent any insurance companies.
For more than 40 years, the New Jersey personal injury lawyers at Davis, Saperstein & Salomon, P.C. have helped more than 40,000 injured clients and families and recovered more than $1 billion in verdicts and settlements. That experience includes pedestrians struck by vehicles, people injured while riding NJ Transit buses, and victims of serious school bus and commercial bus crashes.
Founding Partner Marc C. Saperstein, Esq., is Certified by the Supreme Court of New Jersey as a Civil Trial Attorney and is a past President of the New Jersey Association for Justice. He has decades of experience representing people seriously injured in bus and transit accidents. Marc and the firm represented six students injured in the catastrophic 2018 Paramus school bus crash on Interstate 80 in Mount Olive and secured $6.25 million in combined settlements. He also obtained a $1 million settlement for a passenger injured when one NJ Transit bus rear-ended another, causing serious and lasting injuries.
For an injured client, that experience means having attorneys who understand both the special rules that apply to bus and public-transit claims and the real effect a serious injury can have on someone’s health, ability to work, and future. The legal team will handle and fight for the claim while the client focuses on treatment, rehabilitation, and the care they need to get back on their feet.
Injured in a Hackensack or NJ Transit Bus Accident
If you were struck by a bus while walking in Hackensack, injured while riding an NJ Transit bus, or hurt in another bus or pedestrian accident anywhere in Bergen County or New Jersey, contact Davis, Saperstein & Salomon, P.C. Our experienced New Jersey bus accident and pedestrian injury lawyers can investigate the crash, protect important NJ Transit deadlines, and explain the compensation that may be available based on your injuries and losses.
Contact Davis, Saperstein & Salomon, P.C. at 1-800-LAW-2000 or by email at info@dsslaw.com. The firm offers free, confidential, no-obligation consultations and second opinions, with offices throughout New Jersey and New York City. Cases are handled on a contingency fee basis, meaning clients pay no attorney fees unless the firm obtains a final financial settlement for them.
