Bus carrying high school band crashes in New York, two dead

Robert Besser
26 Sep 2023, 07:21 GMT+10

A bus carrying members of a high school marching band traveling to a music camp ran off a highway and tumbled down a steep ravine in New York State
The crash killed two people and injured dozens of others, with several in serious condition
New York Governor Kathy Hochul said that the crash was likely "a faulty front tire contributed to the accident," though the cause was still under investigation

LONG ISLAND, New York: On Thursday, a bus carrying members of a high school marching band traveling to a music camp ran off a highway and tumbled down a steep ravine in New York State.

The crash killed two people and injured dozens of others, with several in serious condition.

At a news conference, New York Governor Kathy Hochul said that the crash was likely "a faulty front tire contributed to the accident," though the cause was still under investigation.

Lt. Colonel Richard Mazzone of the New York State Police said two adult women were killed out of 44 passengers, with 40 being students and four adults.

He added that the band was traveling from Farmington High School on Long Island to Pennsylvania.

Hochul said five or six others were critically injured, and a faculty adviser for the school's band program was one of the fatalities. The injured were taken to a half-dozen area hospitals.

The two dead were identified as Beatrice Ferarri, 77, of Farmingdale, and Gina Pellettiere, 43, of Massapequa, Long Island.

The crash occurred in the early afternoon along Interstate 84 near the town of Wawayanda, about 75 miles northwest of New York City near the border with New Jersey.

In a social media post, the New York State Police said that the highway's westbound lanes were closed at that point.

Officials said the bus had been carrying members of the high school band from the Long Island village of Farmingdale in Nassau County on a trip to a band camp in Greeley, Pennsylvania.

No other vehicles were reportedly involved in the crash.