I-84 crash gate approved months after deadly Farmingdale band bus crash

The Federal Highway Administration has approved a long-stalled state plan to install a “crash gate” along a section of I-84 in Orange County where a charter bus carrying members of the Farmingdale High School band left the roadway in September, killing two adults and injuring dozens of students. Officials announced the approval Wednesday. 

The crash gate, which state lawmakers first proposed more than a decade ago, is an emergency-vehicles only access road that should allow first responders quicker access to an emergency along the stretch of highway in Wawayanda. There are more than 10 miles of roadway between access points at the Goshen and Mountain Road exits, state and federal officials have said.

“The tragic bus crash in Orange County this past September was just one of many horrific tragedies that have taken place on Interstate 84 and plagued communities across New York with fear about the ability of first responders to quickly respond to these dangerous and sometimes deadly accidents,” Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said in a statement.

Schumer said the members of the Slate Hill Fire Department who responded to the Sept. 21 Farmingdale bus crash currently have to drive to a neighboring fire district to enter the interstate.

Slate Hill Fire Chief Michael Dally said in September that there are daily crashes in that area, including two other fatalities in the three months leading up to the bus crash.

While it is unclear if the access gates could have made a difference in the Farmingdale band crash, Wawayanda fire officials have said the typical response time could be reduced from 12 minutes to two minutes in that area.

Crash gates are often metal gates on a roadway that link opposite lanes of a highway. Supporters say they can also substantially reduce the time traffic is tied up near an accident.

New York State Sen. James Skoufis (D-Woodbury) and Assemb. Karl Brabenec (R-Deerpark) have advocated for the gates both before and after the September crash. The FHA approval was the final step before the project could be referred to a state DOT contractor.

Skoufis said in a statement Wednesday the crash made it clear there was an “urgent need" for the gates.

“When lifesaving care is needed, every second counts," Skoufis said.

Brabenec said the improvement in response time will “ultimately save lives."

Farmingdale High School's band was headed to a weekend band camp Sept. 21 when one of its rented buses crashed on Interstate 84 and toppled down a 50-foot embankment. Band director Gina Pellettiere, 43, and chaperone Beatrice Ferrari, 77, were killed. The bus driver, Lisa Schaffer, 59, of Centereach, was ejected but survived. Some students were hospitalized for weeks with bone fractures and internal injuries. Doctors said one girl narrowly escaped paralysis.

A National Transportation and Safety Board investigation into the crash is ongoing, according to the agency's online database. A full NTSB report will include probable cause and safety recommendations to prevent similar events, the agency has said. 

“The investigation is expected to be completed in 12-24 months from the date of the accident," NTSB spokesman Peter Knudson wrote in an email.

At least 11 lawsuits have been filed by parents of students on the bus against Schaffer and the bus company, Regency Transportation of Nesconset. Four of the complaints name a motor coach company, ABC Maintenance, as a co-defendant and another names the Farmingdale School District. 

On Dec. 20, school district representatives visited the Orange County 911 Call Center to thank the first responders for their actions on the day of the crash. 

Farmingdale Superintendent Paul Defendini told Newsday last week that everyone “to some degree, is struggling with the trauma of that day and all that came in the aftermath.”

By Grant Parpan

grant.parpan@newsday.com@GrantParpan

Grant Parpan covers Suffolk County courts and federal courts for Newsday. A Long Island native, he joined Newsday in 2022.