#dalerstrong community lends support after Orange County bus crash

Sarah Eames, Middletown Times Herald- Record
Updated ·2 min read
1
Twisted cable barriers above the location on Interstate 84 in Slate Hill near where a bus lost control and rolled down the median causing 2 fatalities on Thursday. The NTSB will hold a press conference later on Friday Sept. 22, 2023 with their findings.

Members of a suburban Long Island school community are honoring loved ones lost in a bus crash Thursday about 45 miles northwest of New York City.

Gina Pellettiere, 43, and Beatrice “Bea” Ferrari, 77, were killed when a coach bus they were riding in along with nearly 50 students rolled down an embankment off of Interstate 84 in the Orange County town of Wawayanda on Thursday afternoon.

Several students were injured in the crash, which is believed to be caused by a faulty front tire. Six students remained in critical condition Friday morning at hospitals throughout the lower Hudson Valley region.

Band camp bus one of 6 from Farmingdale, Long Island

The bus was one of six from Farmingdale School District in Nassau County, Long Island, headed to a band camp in northeastern Pennsylvania for the weekend before the crash near Middletown.

“It is difficult to express the sadness and grief that the Farmingdale School District and I feel over the tragic events that unfolded earlier and the horrific experience our students endured,” Farmingdale Superintendent Paul Defendini said in an email to the school community Thursday afternoon.

Pellettiere was the band director and Ferrari was described as “the heart and soul of our marching band program,” Defendini said.

The district confirmed in a separate email that Ferrari was a retired teacher and serving as a chaperone on the trip.

Farmingdale school community lends support

The district established a crisis center at Howland Middle School on Friday for staff, students and community members in need of support. The center will be open from 9 a.m. to noon and 2 to 5 p.m. Saturday and noon to 3 p.m. Sunday.

All after-school competitions were canceled Friday and throughout the weekend. Coaches and club advisors with scheduled meetings were encouraged to meet with their students after school.

“Again, I thank you all for everything you’ve done to support our kids during this incredible time of need,” Defendini said in a Friday announcement. “Stay together, stay strong, and we will get through this together.”

Read more about the I-84 bus crash

What happened: Bus company in NY crash 'properly licensed,' but inspections raise questions

'There are families grieving today': NYSP reveal possible cause of I-84 bus crash

This article originally appeared on Binghamton Press & Sun-Bulletin: Orange County NY bus crash brings Farmingdale community together