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Farmingdale bus crash: Two people were killed when a bus carrying a large group of high school students crashed down a ravine, prompting the National Transportation Safety Board and the New York State Police to launch an investigation.
According to the NTSB, an investigational team is anticipated to reach the crash site on Friday morning. It is located on Interstate 84 in the town of Wawayanda, which is roughly 70 miles northwest of New York City.
Authorities stated Thursday evening that preliminary data suggests a defective front tire may have contributed to the collision, but an investigation into the fatal collision is underway.
The bus, along with five others, was traveling to a band camp event in Pennsylvania on Thursday, according to a statement from the Farmingdale School District in Long Island.
According to Lt. Colonel Richard Mazzone of the New York State Police, during an evening news conference, authorities responded to a complaint regarding a “rollover commercial bus accident” at about 1:12 pm on Thursday.
According to Mazzone, there were four adults and 40 Farmingdale High School students riding the bus.
The two deceased adults have been identified as Beatrice Ferrari, 77, and Gina Pellettiere, 43.
Several others were hurt as well, Mazzone continued, with five of them in critical condition. He gave no additional information about those wounds. He stated that they were sent to six local hospitals.
Screaming, chaos and a swift rescue
As many Farmingdale kids left for their anticipated band trip on Thursday, Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman stated during the news conference. Nassau County is where Farmingdale is situated.
40 students were in the bus when it “literally tumbled down a 50-foot ravine,” according to governor Kathy Hochul. The massive bus was seen lying on one side after it crashed, encircled by trees, in aerial photos provided by CNN affiliates.
“Imagine the fear, the screams, and the aftermath, when these high school students, many of them freshmen, were surrounded by this chaos. But they endured, they were strong and within 45 minutes, because of the efforts of an incredible amount of team work, these young people and the adults were brought to safety.”
The governor congratulated first responders “for the quick and heroic actions” at the scene in a later post on X, formerly known as Twitter.
The governor stated on Thursday that numerous fire and rescue organizations arrived on the site “literally running in the danger, uncertain as to whether or not that bus could explode.”
“The only advice I can give to anybody tonight is hug your children very tight, life is very precious and our kids started out today thinking they were going to have a wonderful weekend with their friends,” Blakeman stated during the news conference.
“If it wasn’t for (law enforcement and first responders) and all that they did, we would have lost more (people) and they wouldn’t have gotten the care as quickly as they did,” he added.
Credits: CNN
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