Emergency responders work the scene of a fatal bus crash, in Wawayanda, N.Y., Thursday, Sept. 21, 2023. The charter bus carrying high school students to a band camp hurtled off a New York highway and down an embankment, officials said. (NBC New York via AP)
WAWAYANDA, N.Y. 鈥� A charter bus carrying high school students to a band camp careened off a New York highway and tumbled down an embankment Thursday, killing two adults and seriously injuring several others, officials said.
Gov. Kathy Hochul said a failure of a front tire could have contributed to the early afternoon accident on Interstate 84 in the town of Wawayanda, about 45 miles (72 kilometers) northwest of New York City.
The two adults who died were Beatrice Ferrari, 77, of Farmingdale and Gina Pellettiere, 43, of Massapequa. Five of the 44 passengers on board were critically injured. according to state police.
Hochul said the bus tumbled down a 50-foot ravine.
鈥淚magine the fear, the screams and the aftermath when these high school students, many of them freshmen, were surrounded by this chaos,鈥� Hochul said at a news conference.
Student Anthony Eugenio called his family to say he was a little banged up, but OK. He recalled the bus rolling over several times before it came to a rest.
鈥淗e said he is really sore. He鈥檚 got a big bump on his leg. He鈥檚 got blood on his pants from somebody else. The person next to him was covered in blood,鈥� his father, Jonathan Eugenio, told The Associated Press in a phone interview from near the upstate crash site.
Anthony had to borrow a friend鈥檚 phone because he could not find his, after the bus tumbled off the road.
鈥淚t was pretty nerve-wracking,鈥� the worried father said. 鈥淲hen you get news like that and your son is two and half hours away 鈥� it鈥檚 pretty scary.鈥�
好色先生TV footage showed ripped-up grass on the embankment and the bus lying on its left side with its roof warped. A ladder allowed rescuers to reach the windows.
The bus was one of six in a caravan carrying students from Farmingdale High School on Long Island to a band camp in Greeley, in northeastern Pennsylvania, according to a message from the school district.
A September trip to band camp is an annual tradition at the suburban high school, which has around 1,700 students. Members of the marching band, color guard and the school鈥檚 kick line team attend, as well as adult chaperones. During some years, more than 300 students have gone on the trip to rehearse and have fun in rural Pennsylvania.
The bus crashed about 30 miles (48 kilometers) away from the Pine Forest Camp, where the students were headed.
Students on the other buses were to stop off at a community college for a break before heading back to Long Island鈥檚 Nassau County.
鈥淪tudents will have the opportunity to stretch and meet with grief counselors,鈥� according to a message from the district. 鈥淥nce cleared, they will be returning to Farmingdale High School.鈥�
Westchester Medical Center received three patients, said hospital spokesperson Andy LaGuardia, who could not provide conditions. Two other hospitals in the region received patients, LaGuardia said, but he did not have details.
Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman asked that people please 鈥減ray for the injured.鈥�