Farmingdale High School bus crash: 7 still hospitalized; school to close for Gina Pellettiere's funeral
The charter bus that held four adults and students from Farmingdale High School, which crashed on its way to a Pennsylvania band camp and went down a ravine Thursday, is raised up in Orange County on Interstate-84. Credit: Howard Simmons
Seven passengers on a Farmingdale High School charter bus that crashed down a 50-foot ravine Thursday, killing two women and injuring dozens of students, remained hospitalized Monday, officials said.
And while the community copes with the tragedy, Farmingdale Superintendent Paul Defendini said late Monday that the high school would close Thursday for the funeral of Gina Pellettiere, the school’s director of bands.
Five patients remained hospitalized at Westchester Medical Center, with two in fair condition and three others in good condition, according to a hospital statement. Nassau spokesman Chris Boyle said those patients are all students.
One adult is still hospitalized at Garnet Health Medical Center in Middletown in stable condition, while a freshman female student is in stable condition at Cohen Children’s Medical Center in New Hyde Park, Boyle said.
Farmingdale Mayor Ralph Ekstrand said that student was airlifted Friday from Westchester Medical to Long Island and is recovering from spinal and back surgeries. She is able to speak and expected to recover, he said. A Cohen’s spokesman declined to comment on the student’s condition.
On Saturday, Defendini said all of those injured in the bus crash are expected to recover.
The charter bus was among six en route to a marching band camp in Greeley, Pennsylvania, when it crashed and overturned at 1:12 p.m. Thursday on Interstate 84 in the town of Wawayanda in upstate Orange County. Forty students and four adults were on board the charter bus, which state transportation officials said was operated by Regency Transportation of Nesconset. In total, roughly 300 students and adults were on the trip, officials said.
Beatrice Ferrari, 77, of Farmingdale, a chaperone and retired teacher, and Pellettiere, 43, of Massapequa were both killed in the crash.
A wake for Ferrari was held Monday and will continue Tuesday in Farmingdale, with her funeral scheduled for Wednesday at St. Kilian Roman Catholic Church in Farmingdale.
Pellettiere’s wake is scheduled for Tuesday and Wednesday in Massapequa Park and her funeral is Thursday at Our Lady of Lourdes, also in Massapequa Park.
“We have an overwhelming number of staff members and students who are looking to attend the funeral arrangements for Gina on Thursday,” Defendini wrote in a message to parents Monday, adding the school would be closed and after-school activities, sports and an open house would be postponed. “Gina has been a fixture here in our schools for more than 20 years and her reach and impact is immeasurable.”
The Village of Farmingdale said it’s waiving all parking fees through Thursday out of respect for the victims.
Farmingdale High School will be open on Tuesday with all after-school activities, sports and practices scheduled to resume, a district spokesman said. The district will continue to offer counseling services for students “until such time as they are no longer needed,” according to a message Monday by Farmingdale’s Board of Education.
In support of the Farmingdale community, many Long Island school districts are urging students to wear green Tuesday to support “Daler Nation,” referring to the school’s nickname.
The National Transportation Safety Board, the lead investigative agency, said several students were ejected from the bus. The board said Friday investigators are looking at several possible factors that could have led to the crash, including a faulty left front tire, mechanical issues and driver error.
State police spokesman Steven Nevel said speed and possible driver impairment hadn’t yet been ruled out as causes.
NTSB investigators interviewed the bus driver Saturday, said spokesman Peter Knudson, declining to provide additional details.
A preliminary report on the crash is expected within a month while the full investigation could take up to two years to be complete, he said.
Messages left with Regency were not returned. In a Facebook post, the company said it was cooperating with authorities.
The bus was inspected in August when it was purchased by Regency and passed a semiannual inspection, said Joseph Morrissey, a state Department of Transportation spokesman.
According to Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration records, one crash involving a bus now owned by Regency was reported to the agency in the last two years. That crash involved an injury, but records do not say who was responsible. The crash, the DOT said, occurred during the bus’ previous ownership.
The bus in Thursday’s crash, which accumulated 443,133 miles as of August, has been inspected four times in “random roadside inspections” since 2021, including one after the August semiannual inspection by the DOT, Morrissey said.
Meanwhile, state and local lawmakers, along with first responders, held a news conference Monday in Wawayanda renewing calls for a “crash gate” to be installed on I-84. A crash gate, or access route, provides a secondary entrance to the interstate to allow first responders quicker access to accidents without traveling to the next exit ramp.
“It’s close to 10 minutes, at least, that we could shave off our response time,” said Slate Hill Fire Chief Michael Dally.
Seven passengers on a Farmingdale High School charter bus that crashed down a 50-foot ravine Thursday, killing two women and injuring dozens of students, remained hospitalized Monday, officials said.
And while the community copes with the tragedy, Farmingdale Superintendent Paul Defendini said late Monday that the high school would close Thursday for the funeral of Gina Pellettiere, the school’s director of bands.
Five patients remained hospitalized at Westchester Medical Center, with two in fair condition and three others in good condition, according to a hospital statement. Nassau spokesman Chris Boyle said those patients are all students.
One adult is still hospitalized at Garnet Health Medical Center in Middletown in stable condition, while a freshman female student is in stable condition at Cohen Children’s Medical Center in New Hyde Park, Boyle said.
Farmingdale Mayor Ralph Ekstrand said that student was airlifted Friday from Westchester Medical to Long Island and is recovering from spinal and back surgeries. She is able to speak and expected to recover, he said. A Cohen’s spokesman declined to comment on the student’s condition.
On Saturday, Defendini said all of those injured in the bus crash are expected to recover.
The charter bus was among six en route to a marching band camp in Greeley, Pennsylvania, when it crashed and overturned at 1:12 p.m. Thursday on Interstate 84 in the town of Wawayanda in upstate Orange County. Forty students and four adults were on board the charter bus, which state transportation officials said was operated by Regency Transportation of Nesconset. In total, roughly 300 students and adults were on the trip, officials said.
Beatrice Ferrari, 77, of Farmingdale, a chaperone and retired teacher, and Pellettiere, 43, of Massapequa were both killed in the crash.
A wake for Ferrari was held Monday and will continue Tuesday in Farmingdale, with her funeral scheduled for Wednesday at St. Kilian Roman Catholic Church in Farmingdale.
Pellettiere’s wake is scheduled for Tuesday and Wednesday in Massapequa Park and her funeral is Thursday at Our Lady of Lourdes, also in Massapequa Park.
“We have an overwhelming number of staff members and students who are looking to attend the funeral arrangements for Gina on Thursday,” Defendini wrote in a message to parents Monday, adding the school would be closed and after-school activities, sports and an open house would be postponed. “Gina has been a fixture here in our schools for more than 20 years and her reach and impact is immeasurable.”
The Village of Farmingdale said it’s waiving all parking fees through Thursday out of respect for the victims.
Farmingdale High School will be open on Tuesday with all after-school activities, sports and practices scheduled to resume, a district spokesman said. The district will continue to offer counseling services for students “until such time as they are no longer needed,” according to a message Monday by Farmingdale’s Board of Education.
In support of the Farmingdale community, many Long Island school districts are urging students to wear green Tuesday to support “Daler Nation,” referring to the school’s nickname.
The National Transportation Safety Board, the lead investigative agency, said several students were ejected from the bus. The board said Friday investigators are looking at several possible factors that could have led to the crash, including a faulty left front tire, mechanical issues and driver error.
State police spokesman Steven Nevel said speed and possible driver impairment hadn’t yet been ruled out as causes.
NTSB investigators interviewed the bus driver Saturday, said spokesman Peter Knudson, declining to provide additional details.
A preliminary report on the crash is expected within a month while the full investigation could take up to two years to be complete, he said.
Messages left with Regency were not returned. In a Facebook post, the company said it was cooperating with authorities.
The bus was inspected in August when it was purchased by Regency and passed a semiannual inspection, said Joseph Morrissey, a state Department of Transportation spokesman.
According to Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration records, one crash involving a bus now owned by Regency was reported to the agency in the last two years. That crash involved an injury, but records do not say who was responsible. The crash, the DOT said, occurred during the bus’ previous ownership.
The bus in Thursday’s crash, which accumulated 443,133 miles as of August, has been inspected four times in “random roadside inspections” since 2021, including one after the August semiannual inspection by the DOT, Morrissey said.
Meanwhile, state and local lawmakers, along with first responders, held a news conference Monday in Wawayanda renewing calls for a “crash gate” to be installed on I-84. A crash gate, or access route, provides a secondary entrance to the interstate to allow first responders quicker access to accidents without traveling to the next exit ramp.
“It’s close to 10 minutes, at least, that we could shave off our response time,” said Slate Hill Fire Chief Michael Dally.
Robert Brodsky is a breaking news reporter who has worked at Newsday since 2011. He is a Queens College and American University alum.
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