September 22nd 2023.
On Thursday afternoon, a school bus carrying 40 students from the Farmingdale Union Free School District on Long Island, New York, took a tragic turn. The bus, which had a ‘faulty tire’, plummeted 50ft off a highway and crashed in Orange County. This devastating incident left two people dead and dozens injured.
Two adults, Beatrice Ferarri, 77, of Farmingdale, and Gina Pellettiere, 43, of Massapequa, Long Island, were the unfortunate individuals who died in the crash. Ms Pellettiere was one of three advisers to the high school marching band, as well as the lone adviser to both the school’s jazz and ‘pep’ bands, according to the Farmingdale High School website.
New York Governor Kathy Hochul said at a news conference that it appeared likely ‘a faulty front tire contributed to the accident’ near the New Jersey border. With the cause of the crash under investigation, many of the school children were seen walking around the scene after the crash and were taken to different hospitals in the area.
Lieutenant Colonel Richard Mazzone of the New York State Police said, “Imagine the fear, the screams in the aftermath. These high school students, many of them freshmen, were surrounded by this chaos.”
Aerial footage and images from the scene showed the bus lying on its side with debris strewn across the road and in the shrubbery. Swathes of emergency crews worked desperately to help the injured, setting up a ladder to reach those trapped inside. Significant damage can be seen near the front end of the bus.
Ray Eugenio said on Facebook that his grandson was among those injured in the crash and asked for prayers. New York State Police reported that the westbound lanes of the highway were closed while they dealt with the incident. Five other buses, which were part of the same trip, headed back to Farmingdale after the crash, local media reported.
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