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One of the two teachers killed in a school bus crash in New York was a single mother of a two-year-old child.
Gina Pellettiere, 43, leaves behind a young son who Joseph locals in her hometown of Farmingdale, Long Island, have vowed to care for, the New York Post reported.
Friend Joe Ingoglia wrote on Facebook: “Gina Pellettiere, you will be greatly missed. We have all lost one of the greatest souls alive.
“One of the strongest mothers you will ever come into contact with. A woman full of joy and laughter and who has inspired many.
“I promise little Joseph will be cared for by your amazing music community.”
The blast also killed retired history teacher Beatrice Ferrari, 77. State police suggested Friday morning that a blown tire could be the cause of the horror crash.
Anthony Eugenio, from Farmingdale High School, told how he had been sleeping when the vehicle overturned and crashed on the embankment at around 1.30pm on Thursday.
He said the blow woke him up and he saw a student next to him covered in his own blood before he jumped out of the window.
The charter bus transporting students to band camp plunged down an embankment in upstate New York
Farmingdale High School marching band director Gina Pellettiere, 43, (left) died in the accident
Retired history teacher Beatrice Ferrari, 77, accompanied the school trip
‘The little boy next to me was covered in blood. I saw blood everywhere,” said Anthony Eugenio, a student on the bus.
“I just heard everyone screaming, and after a few minutes people came to get the rest of the kids off the bus.”
During a news conference Friday, Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman said at least 16 students and two adults remain hospitalized after the crash.
The bus was taking Farmingdale High School students to band camp when it plummeted off the two-lane highway near Wawayanda, New York.
‘I woke up to the sound of him hitting the side of the road just before he crashed, and then everyone started screaming. He landed on his side, I had to jump out of the window,” Eugenio said.
The bus was transporting members of the Farmingdale High School marching band to their camp in Pennsylvania
The community is devastated by the death of the beloved band director and volunteer chaperone.
Pellettiere, who reportedly played 20 instruments, is described by students as “a role model, an influential music teacher and a beloved friend.”
Ferrari, who taught in Farmingdale, Long Island, for more than thirty years, continued to serve as the “grandmother” of the school band by chaperoning outings.
New York Governor Kathy Hochul confirmed the deaths, describing it as “a day of terror” for the 44 people – four adults and 40 students – on board.
“What will become of our bond?” student Lucas Castillo Marquez said in an interview with News 12.
“It’s been such a big part of my high school career, not having our principal here anymore, I never expected that.”
The bus led a convoy of six buses carrying 300 students, mostly ninth graders, to the marching band camp at Pine Forest in Greeley, Pennsylvania.
New York State Police were called at 1:12 p.m. to a bus that had overturned ten miles from the nearest exit on the two-lane highway near the town of Wawayanda in Orange County.
The bus appeared to have left the busy roadway about 75 miles (120 kilometers) northwest of New York City and fell down an embankment before coming to rest on its side in a heavily wooded area.
Hochul said all 44 people on board were removed from the wreckage within 45 minutes.
In a coordinated effort, the injured were taken to Westchester County Medical Center or Garnet Health Medical Center in Wallkill.
The trip to band camp is an annual tradition at school, attended by members of the marching band, color guard and kickline team, along with adult chaperones.