A New Jersey man has been arrested after he threw a rock from a highway overpass, striking a school bus and hitting an 8-year-old girl, causing her to suffer serious injuries, including a fractured skull.
Hernando Garciamorales was charged with aggravated assault, possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose, endangering the welfare of a child, criminal mischief, resisting arrest by flight and hindering, according to a Facebook post shared by New Jersey State Police on Friday, January 9.
According to police, a school bus carrying children northbound on the New Jersey Turnpike in Teaneck Township, New Jersey, was hit by a rock the size of a baseball on Wednesday, January 7.
An 8-year-old passenger was hit in the head after the rock broke through a glass window. Following the incident, she was required to undergo surgery to repair the skull fracture.
The young girl is expected to recover, and no other students or adults were injured when the rock struck the bus.
“The girl will be OK. She did have surgery Thursday for a fractured skull, and she is recovering,” Teaneck Mayor Mark J. Schwartz told The New York Post following the incident.
The bus was on its way back to the Yeshivat Noam school after the third-grade students went on a field trip to the Liberty Science Center in Jersey City, according to WABC.
“We are deeply grateful for the swift, coordinated response and outstanding communication among all law enforcement agencies, elected officials, and community organizations involved,” Rabbi Chaim Hagler, Head of School at Yeshivat Noam, said in a statement, per Fox News.
“Their collaboration underscores the importance of strong partnerships between schools, community leaders, and public safety officials. Our primary focus remains the safety of our children, and we are heartened to see justice being served so efficiently.”
Garciamorales, 40, was linked to the crime when police found him at a “self-made campsite” in Bergen County, close to where the alleged incident took place. He was then arrested, and police soon y learned that Garciamorales was linked to “multiple rock-throwing incidents” that have taken place all around the county.
The suspect, who resides in Palisades Park, has been involved in past crimes described in eight affidavits, according to the New Jersey Herald. Six of the eight incidents involved rock throwing, while he was also accused of invading the privacy of Bogota, New Jersey, residents in two other affidavits.
Three of the incidents included him being accused of throwing rocks at police officers in 2025 — on July 15, October 5 and October 11.
Garciamorales is currently being held at Bergen County Jail as he awaits his detention hearing, according to police. Authorities did not share when he is next expected to appear in court.
It is not currently clear if Garciamorales has entered a plea or retained legal representation.
The New Jersey State Police Department did not immediately respond to Us Weekly’s request for comment.
Following the incident, the Jewish Federation of Northern New Jersey issued a statement on the matter. “Law enforcement has indicated that the incident does not appear to be a bias-motivated crime,” the organization said on Saturday, January 10, per the New Jersey Herald.
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