The family of eight-month-old Angelie Paredes held a prayer service in North Bergen.
A bus driven by Idowu Daramola plowed into a pole that fell and killed the 8-month-old last week in West New York.
Daramola made a brief court appearance Thursday. He's charged with death by auto, reckless driving and using a cellphone while operating a vehicle. Daramola did not enter a plea and was being held on $250,000 bail. Hudson County Sheriff Frank X. Schillari said speed is also a factor in the case. Daramola has been charged with a number of traffic infractions over the past few years, including speeding, improperly letting off passengers, failure to stop at a stop sign and running a red light.
Schillari said an arrest warrant was issued in February 2012 after Daramola failed to appear in court on one of the charges. Two additional warrants were issued this year after Daramola again failed to appear in court.
Schillari said Daramola, who lives in Queens, "slipped through the system," and it may have happened because Daramola lives and has a valid driver's license in New York.
"This tragedy could have been averted," Schillari said. "I think it's ludicrous that he was still driving. But we're going to try to prevent such accidents in Hudson County from here on in."
Daramola was employed by Sphinx Transportation, which Schillari said was recently sold to Boulevard Transportation of Ridgefield, N.J. No one at the company could be immediately reached for comment.
Paredes will be buried at Fairview Mausoleum on Monday, her family said.
The family has set a website to help pay for the funeral expenses. For more information, please visit https://www.wepay.com/donations/upsilon-baby-angela-paredes-fund.
