MORE information has been revealed about the band directors who died in the horrifying Farmingdale school bus crash Thursday evening.
Gina Pellettiere, 43, and Beatrice Ferrari, 77, were named as the two victims when a bus taking Farmingdale High School students to band camp lost control and crashed 50 feet off a New York highway.
The bus carried 44 passengers in total and rolled off Interstate 84 in Wawayanda, New York, about 30 minutes from where it was headed.
Five other buses arrived safely back to the school as the sixth was left flipped on its side.
Now, heartbreaking details have been released about band directors Pellettiere and Ferrari.
“It feels like stuff that only happens in movies; it feels completely unreal,” student Janae McKoy told local news outlet WPIX.
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Student Thomas Hagerty called Pellettiere one of the best staff members at Farmingdale High School.
"She was easily one of the best in the school, always full of energy, happy and uplifting people,” he explained.
Nassau County legislator Rose Walker echoed similar sentiments and noted that she watched Pellettiere grow up in the city.
“She did it out of the love for what she did and the love for her kids,” Walker told the outlet.
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Bruce Blakeman, the executive of Nassau County, noted that Ferrari and Pellettiere were close friends, and the band trip was set to be a "weekend planned of fun and musicianship."
"Unfortunately, the day ended in tragedy.”
A statement on the bus crash was also released by school superintendent Paul Defendini.
"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," Defendini wrote in a letter to the community obtained by WPIX.
"We deeply mourn the passing of our inspiring faculty and Band Director, Gina Pellittiere, and the heart and soul of our marching band program, Beatrice 'Bea' Ferarri."
The superintendent further revealed that the bus was headed to a yearly band camp trip to Pine Valley Camp in Greeley, Pennsylvania.
He also confirmed that the 42 passengers who survived the crash were "reunited with their families" at an educational building in Middletown, about five miles from Wawayanda.
"The Farmingdale School District worked with the State Police and Nassau County Police Department to arrange for escorted transportation so families could get to their children as quickly as possible," Defendini added in the statement.
"We are grateful to the first responders who arrived at the scene to care for those involved in the crash."
The superintendent also confirmed that Farmingdale High School would remain open on Friday, with counselors and support personnel available to students and staff.
"We understand that each of us will grieve in our own way. I shared with our students earlier and our staff a few minutes ago that the best thing we can do is to give hugs and make sure each and every person in this community has the support they need," he wrote.
"We are here tomorrow and in the days to follow to provide that level of support. Our unconditional love and support goes out to all who are struggling."
Defendini stressed that the community would remain strong after the horrifying crash if they remained unified.
"Farmingdale’s strength is in its unity, and that is needed most during times of tragedy," he wrote.
"At this time, we ask that the privacy of our students and their families be respected."
'COVERED IN BLOOD'
New York Governor Kathy Hochul noted that the cause of the bus crash may have been due to an issue with one of the vehicle's front tires.
Although the National Transportation Safety Board is still investigating the cause of the incident.
Five students were critically wounded after the bus flipped and were rushed to a nearby hospital.
At least 40 in total suffered injuries, and three were treated at the level-one trauma center at Westchester Medical Center on Thursday, per News 12 Long Island.
Farmingdale student Anthony Eugenio, 15, explained to The Associated Press that the bus flipped several times, and he could only hear yelling among the other 43 passengers.
"Then everyone was yelling," he told the publication.
"The kid next to me was covered in blood. I saw blood everywhere."
Eugenio continued that he managed to leave the scene in his mother's car, blood soaked into his jeans.
He explained that his thoughts immediately after the crash were "this can't be real."
It reportedly took an agonizing 45 minutes for first responders to get to the crash site.
"Today was a day of terror for 44 passengers," Governor Hochul said in a statement on Thursday.
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"Imagine the fear. The screams of these high school students, many of them freshmen, surrounded by this chaos."
"They endured and were strong," she added.
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