Leonia, NJ : 60-year-old Leyla Kan struck, killed by school bus in Leonia on Thursday morning, August 7, 2014

Other drivers had to alert a bus driver that she'd struck a woman and was dragging her along a Leonia road on Thursday morning before she stopped — approximately 71 feet after she'd hit the woman, police said. Just a few minutes later, Leyla Kan, 60, was pronounced dead at the scene. Police received several 911 calls at 8:19 a.m., reporting that Kan was trapped underneath a school bus, Leonia police Chief Thomas Rowe said during a press conference Thursday afternoon. Kan, of Fort Lee, had been walking west on Fort Lee Road and crossing Broad Avenue when she was struck by a bus, Rowe said. The driver, Esperanza Jaramillo, 43, of Tenafly, was traveling east on Fort Lee Road, when she turned left onto Broad Avenue, Rowe said. Jaramillo thought she'd cleared Kan, but a part of the bus that juts out about a foot on the driver's side of the vehicle struck the 60-year-old, Rowe said. Kan's foot got stuck in a rear tire of the bus, which dragged her roughly 71 feet down the road, Rowe said. Drivers stopped at the intersection waved Jaramillo down, alerting her that she was dragging Kan with the bus, Rowe said. Jaramillo and passengers on the bus told police that she didn't realize that she'd struck Kan, Rowe said. "Imagine you are sitting in these cars and see this incident happen. You want to get the bus to stop," he said. "Thank God she stopped." Though Jaramillo had a green light at the time, Kan had the right of way when she was crossing the street, Kan said. Jaramillo was issued a summons for failure to yield to a pedestrian, careless driving and operating a vehicle with improper equipment, specifically bald tires, Rowe said. Police do not believe that she was talking on her cell phone or under the influence at the time of the crash. Jaramillo was visibly shaken by the incident, and was taken to Englewood Hospital to be treated for trauma, he said. Two passengers on the bus — a teenager and his aid, who were headed for a local camp—were not injured in the crash, Rowe said. Witnesses indicated that Kan was on her cell phone at the time of the crash, but Rowe said this wasn't the case. Her cell phone was later found in her purse, he said. The bus Jaramillo was driving is owned by Rainbow Transportation Inc. in Bergenfield. The company didn't return calls for comment. The vehicle has been impounded. Friends and family members told The Record that Kan was likely walking to her café on Broad Avenue in Palisades Park when she was struck. She had owned the Picnic Café for more than 25 years. She was well-loved by the community, they said, and proud of her Turkish heritage, having immigrated to the U.S. from Turkey in 1979 with her husband, Oktay, and their son. The crash is still under investigation. Motor vehicle accidents are a symptom of a daily malady in the borough — an "inordinate amount of traffic," Rowe said. The borough is flooded with traffic from the New Jersey Turnpike and the George Washington Bridge, he said. He said that municipalities like Leonia, Fort Lee, Jersey City and Hoboken — areas that serve as major entryways to tunnels and bridges to New York City — need help from the state. "Quite honestly we need help," he said. "If you've been in this area, you know we are inundated with traffic from the Turnpike." During the school year, a crossing guard is stationed at the intersection where Kan was struck, Rowe said, but the department doesn't have the funding to have one year-round. At the time of Thursday's collision, two officers were responding to a domestic violence incident. The traffic is too much for the borough department to handle, Rowe said, and it creates a toxic driving environment. When drivers are forced to wait in traffic, they can become impatient, he said. Source : Fort Lee woman killed by bus in Leonia was dragged 71 feet, police say