Woman killed in Atlantic Beach school bus accident ID'd

A woman trying to cross an Atlantic Beach street on her way to work Thursday morning was struck and killed by a school minibus, police and witnesses said.

Gloria Moreira, 56, of Atlantic Beach, was hit on Park Street west of Vernon Avenue just before 7 a.m. as she headed for the N33 bus stop, Nassau County police said.

Police have not released the name of the driver, who was traveling east at the time of the crash. No children were aboard, and the driver wasn't injured.

The driver's employer, Independent Coach Corp. of Wanser Avenue in Inwood, is conducting its own inquiry into the crash, said Michael Sperber, a claims supervisor.

Asked about the driver, Sperber said: "He's OK. Of course, he's shaken up from the incident."

Moreira's workplace was unknown.

A neighbor, Andrew Levey, 45, who works on Wall Street, said he ran from his house after the crash and attempted to save Moreira, but "she was in bad shape."

"I grabbed her wrist and felt a faint pulse," he said. "Thirty seconds later . . . there was nothing."

Responding EMTs tried their best to resuscitate the woman, he said.

"We did what we could," said Neil Metz of Atlantic Beach Rescue, who pronounced her dead at the scene. "You never get used to something like that."

Metz said the bus driver was in shock but refused to be taken to a hospital. "I felt his chest. His heart was pounding," Levey said.

A passerby, Carolyn Orena, said she was bringing her daughter to school when they came upon the scene. "We were just beside ourselves," she said.