Hudy Muldrow sat silently in court for much of the two-hour, 30-minute detention hearing - a staple in criminal cases in New Jersey since the state did away with cash bail at the beginning of last year. In the gallery, several of Muldrow's friends and relatives nodded and clutched hands after the judge announced his decision. They declined to comment after the hearing.
State Superior Court Judge Stephen Taylor ordered Muldrow released from the Morris County jail, where he has been held since his arrest last week. He will be required to surrender his driver's license and report to court personnel twice a month.
Muldrow faces two counts of vehicular homicide stemming from the May 17 crash on Interstate 80 in western New Jersey. Morris County Assistant Prosecutor Matthew Troiano argued Muldrow had incentive to flee since a conviction on both counts, which carry a 10-year maximum sentence, could doom him to die in prison.
Muldrow was driving one of three buses taking fifth-graders on a field trip from a middle school in Paramus, about 15 miles northwest of New York City.
A criminal complaint alleges the 77-year-old Muldrow missed a turn for the Waterloo Village historic site and tried to make an illegal U-turn on the interstate. The bus collided with a dump truck, and the impact tore the bus apart. Muldrow's attorney on Wednesday argued there is no evidence his client was attempting to make a left turn onto the median in an area restricted for emergency vehicles.
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Ten-year-old Miranda Vargas and 51-year-old teacher Jennifer Williamson were killed, and more than 40 others were injured, some seriously. Vargas' father and Williamson's husband attended Wednesday's hearing. Kevin Kennedy said in a handwritten statement that "Mrs. Jennifer Williamson-Kennedy gave everything to others every day and asked for nothing in return. Today, tomorrow and forever, may the world follow her example."
Much attention has been paid to Muldrow's driving history - he had his license suspended 14 times between 1975 and 2017, mostly for administrative reasons, according to state motor vehicle records. The most recent license suspension was in December for failing to pay parking tickets. He also had eight speeding violations between 1975 and 2001.
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On Wednesday, Muldrow's attorney, Matthew Reisig, defended it as an "above average" driving record and noted the speeding tickets spanned 43 years and none had resulted in a license suspension.
Troiano disagreed, calling Muldrow's driving record "atrocious."
Taylor noted that the court's pretrial assessment had recommended release, but he added the condition that Muldrow surrender his personal and commercial licenses.
"I'm not at all comfortable with Mr. Muldrow operating any sort of motor vehicle," he said.
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