http://www.nypost.com/news/regionalnews/24624.htmHASIDIC GIRLS HURT IN UPSTATE BUS CRASH
May 24, 2004 -- A bus filled with Hasidic girls on their way home from an upstate religious retreat crashed through a guardrail and flipped over into a creek, seriously injuring several of the youngsters, officials said.
Dozens of the bloodied teens - including some from Borough Park in Brooklyn - rushed to exit through the front window of the bus after it came to rest at the bottom of an embankment of the Middle Mongaup River, authorities said.
At least one of the girls suffered a ruptured spleen, and another likely had a concussion, an emergency medical official said.
The accident occurred at about 6:15 a.m. on Ferndale-Loomis Road, near Exit 101 on Route 17, in Sullivan County, officials said.
The driver lost control of the vehicle as it reached the bottom of a steep hill, police said.
The bus then crashed through the rail and ran over a water main before flipping into the creek about 25 feet below, authorities said.
The fact that the vehicle ran over the main, thus losing momentum and slowing it down, likely saved lives, officials said.
There were up to 40 girls on the bus, including those from a senior trip from the Bais Yakov school, which has a branch in Borough Park, officials said. Other girls were from Monsey in Rockland County.
http://www.newsday.com/news/local/wire/ny-bc-ny--buscrash0524may24,0,3094215.story?coll=ny-ap-regional-wireThree hurt when charter bus crashes into river
LIBERTY, N.Y. -- Three teens were seriously injured Sunday when their charter bus rammed through a guardrail, slid down an embankment, then slammed into the Middle Mongaup River.
The bus, carrying about 50 female students returning from a religious retreat, crashed just after 6 a.m. when the driver lost control at the bottom of a hill, police said.
Two of the girls were taken to Westchester Medical Center where they were in stable condition with head injuries. The third girl, who suffered an abdominal injury, was taken to Hackensack Medical Center. None of the injuries were considered life threatening.
The students, ranging in age from 14 to 18, were heading back home to Rockland County after spending the weekend in Sullivan County for a Shabbas retreat.
The bus, one of five in a convoy belonging to Excellent Bus Service Inc. of Brooklyn, skidded down the embankment on a large water main that emergency management officials said actually lessened the impact of the crash.
Many of the girls aboard the bus suffered minor injuries and were treated at area hospitals.
The cause of the accident, which happened about 88 miles northwest of New York City is under investigation. Police said the bus's 23-year-old driver was charged with driving at an unsafe speed.