Driver Charged After Passenger Dies in Brooklyn School Bus Crash
The official record lists unsafe speed in a Feb. 27 crash at Van Sinderen and Blake avenues that killed a 26-year-old front-seat passenger; prosecutors identified the driver as Tyree Epps and said he fled after hitting a school bus.
What We Know
At about 1:16 p.m. on Feb. 27, 2025, police and prosecutors said Tyree Epps was driving a 2008 Mercedes-Benz south on Van Sinderen Avenue when he went through a stop sign at Blake Avenue and hit a school bus. The official crash record lists unsafe speed and traffic-control disregard for the sedan driver, and records one motorist killed and one injured. Imani Vance, 26, was the front-seat passenger; prosecutors said she died from blunt-impact injuries. The bus had no passengers, and its 57-year-old driver was hospitalized. Officials said Epps left after the crash; press accounts differ on whether he fled in a taxi or an Uber. He was later indicted on manslaughter, homicide, assault, speeding, unlicensed-driving, stop-sign and leaving-the-scene counts.
Prosecutors say Epps drove through a stop sign
Police and prosecutors said Tyree Epps, 32, drove a 2008 Mercedes-Benz south on Van Sinderen Avenue at about 1:16 p.m. on Feb. 27 and went through the stop sign at Blake Avenue before hitting a school bus. The official record lists unsafe speed for the crash and traffic-control disregard for the sedan driver.
Accounts differ on the exact side of the bus that was hit: the Daily News reported the rear driver's side, a Brooklyn Paper roundup reported the rear passenger side, and the official record lists the bus's left rear quarter panel as the point of impact.
A bus driver was injured, and a parked truck was caught in the crash
The official record lists a sedan, a bus and a parked box truck. It records two people in the sedan, one person in the bus and no one in the truck; prosecutors said the school bus had no passengers.
Prosecutors said the force of the impact pushed the bus into a third unoccupied vehicle. The bus driver, a 57-year-old woman, was taken to a hospital; amNY described her injuries as minor, while the Daily News and Brooklyn Paper roundup reported she was in stable condition.
Imani Vance's family described a young woman planning for nursing school
Officials identified the passenger who died as Imani Vance, 26. The official record places her in the front passenger seat, and prosecutors said she died from blunt-impact injuries to her torso and a laceration to her heart.
Her family told the Daily News she had recently returned to New York, worked three jobs at a hospital, Starbucks and as a security officer, and hoped to enroll in nursing school. The family started a fundraiser for funeral costs.
Family members told the Daily News they believed Vance had just met Epps and that he offered her a ride to her best friend's apartment.
Epps was indicted and held without bail
Judge Dineen Riviezzo ordered him held without bail until a June court date, and prosecutors said the top charge carries up to 15 years in prison.
Police and prosecutors said Epps left the scene after the crash; the Daily News reported he fled in a taxi, while amNY reported he called an Uber and ran on foot after officers stopped it.
Speed and stop-sign disregard are central to the case
The official record identifies unsafe speed as a contributing factor and lists unsafe speed and traffic-control disregard for the sedan driver. Brooklyn DA Eric Gonzalez said Vance's death was allegedly caused by Epps's decision to ignore a stop sign and drive at excessive speeds.
Where
Van Sinderen Ave & Blake Ave, Brooklyn