School bus driver carrying 12 children with special needs OVERDOSES on heroin at the wheel and crashes

Lisa Byrd, 57, was driving 12 children with special needs in Newark, New Jersey, on Wednesday when she overdosed at the wheel

A school bus driver has been arrested after she overdosed on heroin behind the wheel and crashed into a tree. 

Lisa Byrd, 57, was driving with 12 special needs children on board her bus through New Jersey on Wednesday when she lost consciousness at an intersection.

CCTV of the crash shows the bus rolling across the road before mounting a curb on the other side and hitting a tree.

Sherod Jones told ABC7 that he saw the crash and ran on to the bus to check that everybody was OK.

'I got on the bus, and I checked to see [if] the lady's foot [was] on the brake, and I put it in park so that the kids would be alright,' he said. 

'They said it was 12 kids on that bus, so I just wanted to make sure that the lady was alright. She was really my main concern.'

Paramedics were called and Byrd was given Narcan to revive her before being taken to hospital.

She has now been charged with 12 counts of endangering the welfare of a child, driving while impaired and possession of drug paraphernalia.

Investigators revealed Byrd's driving licence had been suspended between 1996 and 2006, though the reason for the suspension was not reported.

Newark school officials said that all bus routes run by a private firm F&A Transport will be taken over by the district until an investigation has been completed.

'Endangering the lives of Newark children is something we will not tolerate,' Newark Mayor Ras Baraka said.

Byrd rolled across an intersection, mounted a curb and hit a tree, though thankfully nobody was injured. She was administered Narcan and taken to hospital, and has now been arrested