MAMARONECK — Within hours of the fatal June 20 crash that took the lives of a 43-year-old mother and her 6-year-old son — struck by a school mini-bus in a Mamaroneck Avenue crosswalk on their way to school — the Village of Mamaroneck Police Department issued a news release saying “it appears at this time that this incident was a tragic accident” and “there are no charges pending” against the bus driver.

But nearly two weeks after the crash, after the funerals for Molly Murphey Donovan and Michael “Mikey” Donovan Volpe, the investigation continues, as Mamaroneck Village Police Chief Sandra DiRuzza awaits the results of an extensive review by the Westchester County Police Accident Investigation Unit.

After the crash: Changes considered for Mamaroneck intersection by school where mother, 6-year-old son died

That county team will document the accident and present its findings, acting in support of DiRuzza’s department, which is the lead police agency on the case.

Lt. Mark Gatta, public information officer for the village police, said the county’s work takes time, as it involves collecting all information from Mamaroneck’s detectives and using a 3D laser scanner to recreate the entire scene before they “make a determination on their end and write up a report.”

Bus driver won’t be named until investigation concludes

Gatta said the legwork, “the gumshoe work,” has been done by Village of Mamaroneck detectives, canvassing the scene and interviewing witnesses, including the driver of the mini-bus. It is in keeping with department policy, Gatta said, not to reveal the name of the driver, who has been identified only as a 68-year-old man from Mount Vernon.

(The village has denied two Freedom of Information Law requests filed by the USA Today Network New York seeking documents and information in the case, citing the law’s exception for an ongoing police investigation.)

Gatta said the driver’s name will be released after the investigation is concluded.

“If there are charges to be filed, then we’ll release the name,” he said. “If charges are ultimately decided not to be filed, then we’ll release the name. Once we put the name out there, then obviously there’s going to be a lot of scrutiny to that particular person.”

Releasing the driver’s name while the investigation is continuing could change things, Gatta said.

“When we interviewed him initially until this point, he’s 100% cooperative,” the lieutenant said. “If we release the name, then he may stop cooperating. And that’s what we don’t want to have happen.”

The investigation has included “going to the bus company, speaking with his supervisors, looking at any disciplinary things, if he had any,” Gatta said.

“The investigation is open until the accident reconstruction is done, until we get the final word that way, and then we’ll have a final review, probably with the district attorney’s office,” as to whether the driver should face any charges, he said.

As of now, no charges are pending, he said.

“At this time, unless something changes significantly, we’re not looking at it as a reckless act, certainly not looking at it as an intentional act, just an absolutely horrible accident.”

Safety review coming soon of schools in Mamaroneck village

Chief DiRuzza said stakeholders from the county, the school district and the village will gather the week of July 8 to review traffic safety around the schools under the village’s purview. These include two schools in the Mamaroneck school district, Mamaroneck Avenue School (where Michael Volpe was a kindergartner) and Mamaroneck High School, along with schools in the Rye Neck school district that are part of the village of Mamaroneck.

Gatta said the investigation needn’t be finished for that safety review to go forward.

“We just can go ahead and say ‘Let’s make things safer,'” he said.

The week of July 8 is also the week that a camp opens at Mamaroneck Avenue School, meaning families will be walking to the school along Mamaroneck Avenue and crossing the busy thoroughfare at New Street, where a makeshift memorial of stuffed animals, posters, toy cars and action figures has sprung up for the lost schoolmate and his mom.

That intersection will have something else it didn’t have on the morning when “Mikey” and his mother were struck and killed: A crossing guard will be stationed at that intersection.

Reach Peter D. Kramer at pkramer@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: Why cops won’t ID bus driver in Mamaroneck crash that killed mom, son