News12.com Blog:

"Yet Another School Bus Accident"

School started just a couple of weeks ago and already we've had three serious bus accidents here in our borough. On September 10th a school bus struck and killed a bicyclist in park slope. Then on September 12th I remember rushing over to Bensonhurst because a school bus carrying special needs students plowed into a building. Two students and two drivers were hurt in the crash. Today I found myself with a bit of déjà vu. Again, I rushed to Bensonhurst for a school bus crash. The driver pulled an illegal u-turn but missed, ramming into a parked car and hitting two homes. Witnesses told me the bus was going between thirty and forty miles per hour. The force was so strong it sent a crack up the side of one of the homes.

In all three incidents there was nothing wrong with the buses. So what is the problem? Why are there so many accidents? Those are the questions on the minds of people I've met in the neighborhoods where these accidents have happened. Drivers do have to go through a rigorous process in order to get their license to operate a bus in the city. There's a long class involved, a thorough background check and of course a commercial driving test. This page has the list of exactly what these drivers need to have if they want to get behind the wheel of a school bus.

http://schools.nyc.gov/Offices/Transportation/VendorResources/DriverInformation/default.htm

But the people I spoke with think clearly it's not enough if these accidents keep happening.

What also outraged people about today's accident-- the driver was wearing a cell phone earpiece. And witnesses on the scene told me he was talking on it at the time he crashed. I'm not sure if this is a fact or fiction-- the driver refused to answer my questions. When I asked him if he was the bus driver he responded "I don't know." (The police assured me he was.)

Speaking of the police, they did not summons or ticket this driver for his illegal u-turn. I did call the bus company, which is privately run by the United Talmudical Academy of Borough Park just to see if they were investigating the incident or suspending the driver. No luck- they said no one would be able to comment until next week.

The good news, no one was hurt in today's accident. But people there say it was just lucky no one was outside. And they don't want to wait for another person to get hurt. So that community in Bensonhurst says they're going to take the matter up with the community board, the school and the bus companies. Stay tuned!

Photojournalist Brandon Klein and I were lucky enough to meet 19-year-old Brittany Maier and her mother, Tammy, this month for a story on a music school Tammy is creating in Dix Hills.

It was an experience I'll never forget. But I have to confess, words escaped me on this one.

It's not that I had writer's block. But, when putting together today's story, there was just too much to say and only a minute and 45 seconds to say it. (Minus time for the music.)

Brittany is 19 and is what's known as a prodigious savant, which means her talents are extraordinary. She's blind, autistic and mentally challenged - but somehow her mind opens up with music. Brittany can play anything she hears on the piano, and even composes her own songs.

Hopefully, you'll hear the music and be just as amazed as I was.

And, here are some interesting things that just didn't fit into the piece:

Brittany composed the song you hear at the beginning and the end. It's not something she memorized. She has written several original pieces.

She not only learns NOTES by listening to DVDs, she learns to say things like "Thank you very much" after she plays a song, during a concert.

This music school campus is going to include an ampitheater and a whole lot more - including resources for parents with special needs kids.

Leanne already plays the piano well but improved during what was just a short lesson with teacher Deborah Vacarro. (Despite having that lesson in front of a News 12 camera, Leanne did not look nervous at all.)

Eight-year-old Cassie may be the next Brittany. She just started one day, playing tunes she heard on a little keyboard, but she wasn't able to do it when we were there.

I hope I'll get to come back and do another story someday, to hear her playing and to see how the music school is doing.

In the meantime, if you want to find out more about Brittany's upcoming concert in Carnegie Hall next month, or the music school gala and fundriaser in October, here are two links.

http://www.brittanymaier.com/

http://www.brittanyandfriendsfoundation.org/