NJ bus driver charged with child endangerment after wild class trip

🚨 The driver left the wheel while speeding on the Parkway, passengers said

🚨 The students were returning from a class trip

🚨 The bus ran out of gas in Lakewood

LAKEWOOD — The driver of a charter bus with girls returning from a high school graduation trip was charged with 47 counts of child endangerment and reckless driving on the Garden State Parkway late Tuesday night.

The 47 students and three adults on the bus told Lakewood police that the driver drove at high speeds, failed to stay in his lane and used a cell phone while driving.

At one point, the driver stood in the aisle of the moving bus, leaving the steering wheel unattended.

The bus was headed to a private school on River Avenue in Lakewood.

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Driver cuffed

Video posted by The Lakewood Scoop shows the students getting off the bus and walking away. The driver, identified as Xiao Lei Lei Tian, 41, of Philadelphia and wearing torn jeans, was handcuffed behind his back as he was led into a police vehicle.

The Scoop, which was the first to report the incident, reported that the bus was carrying 8th graders who had been on a class trip in Rhode Island.

The website HeyLongbus.com appeared on the side of the bus. It links to a company called Focus Travel. The woman who answered the phone said she had no information about the incident.

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