Overview
- New Jersey State Police arrested Hernando Garciamorales, 40, of Palisades Park on charges including aggravated assault, weapons offenses, child endangerment, criminal mischief, resisting by flight, and hindering.
- The Jan. 7 incident occurred around 2 p.m. on the northbound New Jersey Turnpike near the Teaneck Road exit when a baseball-sized rock shattered a bus window and struck a third-grader.
- Officials say the child underwent surgery for a fractured skull and is expected to be OK, with no other injuries reported on the bus.
- Investigators linked Garciamorales to multiple rock-throwing incidents in Bogota Borough and located him at a self-made campsite in Old Croaker County Park after a multi-unit probe.
- The bus was carrying Yeshivat Noam students returning from a Liberty Science Center trip, the vehicle had no Jewish markings, the motive remains under investigation, and local officials offered a privately funded $5,000 reward for tips and dash-cam footage.