The National Transportation Safety Board has released its preliminary findings in the September bus crash in Wawayanda that killed two people.
While the report doesn't list a cause for the crash and says "all aspects of the crash remain under investigation," the NTSB shared details of the events leading to the crash. The report says it happened past mile marker 12 of I-84 westbound near Wawayanda, with the bus, a 2014 Prevost motorcoach, crossing both the left lane and shoulder from the right lane and going off the highway.
"The motorcoach then struck and penetrated a roadside cable barrier and traveled down the depressed earthen median. The motorcoach came to rest on its left side at the bottom of the depression," reads the report. "Several occupants were ejected from the motorcoach, including the driver and the two front-row adult occupants. Both front-row occupants were fatally injured, and the driver was seriously injured."
Also on Thursday, U.S. Senators Chuck Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand and Rep. Pat Ryan urged the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) for help in building an emergency vehicles-only access road in a section of I-84 to improve safety and accommodate emergency responders.
The lawmakers said the bus crash in Wawayanda showed the lack of access to the roadway for emergency responders in the area. In calling for a “crash gate,” they said the bus crash was the latest of numerous motor vehicle accidents and incidents that have occurred on the stretch of I-84.
Slate Hill Fire District vehicles now must access the highway in a roundabout way, and could have arrived at the scene of the accident 5 to 10 minutes earlier if a crash gate was available, the federal representatives said, citing the fire district’s chief.
“The tragic bus crash in Orange County last week that took the lives of two beloved Long Island educators and seriously injured dozens of Farmingdale High School students rightfully has residents across New York concerned about the safety of Interstate 84 and the ability of first responders to quickly reach accidents in a more expeditious manner,” Schumer said. “We are urging the Federal Highway Administration to support New York State, the Slate Hill Fire District and local officials in improving emergency response times on I-84 by greenlighting this long desired safety project to create an emergency vehicles-only access road.”
While a separate crash in Orange County that occurred several years ago initiated calls for a crash gate and New York state submitted plans for one, the project was never finalized between state Transportation Department and FHWA, officials said.
The NTSB also said the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration and New York State Police are involved in the investigation.