HENDERSON, New York — A 31-year-old SUV driver was killed on Thursday afternoon when his vehicle crossed the centre line of a rural Jefferson County road and struck a Belleville Henderson Central School District school bus head-on, the New York State Police said in an updated statement published on Friday, November 13. The bus driver was seriously injured, five students were treated for minor injuries, and a firefighter who responded to the scene was critically injured during firefighting operations.
Source: New York State Police, via The NY Pulse
State Police said troopers responded at about 2:56 p.m. on Thursday, November 12, 2026, to County Route 75 in the town of Henderson, in Jefferson County, for a fatal crash involving an SUV and a school bus. A preliminary investigation found that a 2004 Cadillac Escalade operated by Alec A. Yepez, 31, of Rodman, New York, was travelling northbound on County Route 75 at an unsafe speed when it crossed the double solid centre line and collided head-on with the southbound school bus. After the collision, the Escalade became engulfed in flames, and Yepez was pronounced deceased at the scene, police said.
The bus driver and the 16 students on board
The school bus was operated by Kurt E. Gehrke, 59, of Belleville, New York. Gehrke sustained multiple serious injuries and was initially transported to Samaritan Medical Center in Watertown before being transferred to Upstate University Hospital, where he remains in stable condition, State Police said.
At the time of the crash, the bus was transporting 16 students ranging in age from 15 to 17 years old. Five students sustained minor injuries: four were transported to Samaritan Medical Center and one was taken by a parent to Carthage Area Hospital. All five students were treated and released. The remaining students who were not injured were transported to the Smithville Fire Department, where they awaited pickup by their parents or guardians. No student is named in the police account, and this report does not name any of them.
A firefighter critically injured at the scene
During fire suppression operations at the scene, Smithville Fire Department firefighter John Rimiller, 61, of Adams, New York, sustained serious injuries under circumstances that remain under investigation, State Police said. Rimiller was transported to Samaritan Medical Center, where he remains in critical condition. Police have not said how the firefighter was injured, and that part of the incident is being examined separately from the crash itself.
WWNY, the Watertown television station whose reporting was carried by Opera News, added a further detail confirmed by State Police: Yepez had been charged with reckless driving in July 2026. Police have not announced any finding that connects that earlier charge to Thursday's crash, and the investigation into the crash itself remains ongoing.
Source: WWNY, via Opera News
A dozen agencies responded
State Police were assisted at the scene by the Jefferson County Sheriff's Department, the Town of Watertown Ambulance, the Smithville Fire Department, the Sackets Harbor Fire Department, South Jefferson Ambulance, the Black River Fire Department, the Jefferson County Office of Fire and Emergency Management, the Jefferson County EMS Office, Guilfoyle Ambulance, the Adams Center Fire Department, the Adams Fire Department, the North Pole Fire Department, and Henderson Ambulance — a response that reflects how a single rural crash can draw in fire and ambulance services from across a wide area of Jefferson County.
State Police have not released a final cause beyond the preliminary finding of unsafe speed and crossing the centre line, have not said how firefighter John Rimiller was injured during suppression operations, and have not announced any timeline for completing the investigation. The conditions of bus driver Kurt Gehrke (stable) and firefighter Rimiller (critical) are as last reported by police on November 13.
What happens next
The State Police investigation remains ongoing, and troopers will complete their reconstruction of the crash on County Route 75 before any final findings are issued. For families in the Belleville Henderson Central School District, the immediate questions are the recovery of their bus driver and of the Smithville firefighter, and whether the district announces any changes to bus routes or counselling support for the 16 students who were on board. This story will be updated when police release further findings.