A public prayer vigil is being held today, noon to 4 p.m., in North Bergen, for the 8-month-old Angelie Paredes, who was killed Tuesday when a commuter bus jumped the curb on Boulevard East near 56th Street in West New York and knocked down a lamppost that struck the infant.

The vigil is being held at Vaineri Funeral Home, 5923 Kennedy Blvd.. The funeral is scheduled for tomorrow at 10 a.m. at the funeral home.

The bus driver involved in the fatal crash, Idowu Daramola, made his first court appearance Thursday in Jersey City and has been charged with death by auto. He was using his cell phone at the time of the incident, according to authorities.

Early yesterday, Angelie's grieving father, Jairo Paredes, posted a message on Facebeook talking about losing his bundle of joy and calling on drivers to put down their cell phones.

"Today ... my wife and I will awake without our Angelie. Not hearing her sweet voice. This is our reality, and we are still trying to wrap our heads around it," Jairo posted.

"She turned 8 months over this past weekend and has done so much. She was crawling and starting to take her steps. She flew on a plane and put her feet in the ocean. Swam in a pool. Tailgated at Rutgers, She also will be saving a life, we donated some of her organs the day she died. It was an easy decision."

Paredes also had a message for drivers.

"Please stop texting or talking on the phone when driving," he wrote. "Give the road your full attention. Put your phone in the trunk, bag, or somewhere out of reach.Thank you for your support. Our healing with last a lifetime."

The Jersey Journal reported this week that Daramola, who was a probationary driver with the MTA in New York, will be fired from that job.

In today's Record, some jitney drivers defend the use of cell phones while driving.

