The National Transportation Safety Board has released its initial report into last month’s fatal bus rollover on Interstate 84 in Wawayanda in Orange County.
The preliminary report released Thursday says the bus carrying 40 high-schoolers and four adults from Long Island to a band camp in Pennsylvania left the right lane on the afternoon of Sept. 21, crossed the left lane and shoulder, left the roadway, struck and penetrated a roadside cable barrier, and traveled down the depressed earthen median. It came to rest on its left side at the bottom of the depression.
Several occupants including the driver, who suffered serious injuries, were ejected. The report does not cite a cause of the crash, which killed two adults.
The NTSB says all aspects of the crash remain under investigation while it determines the probable cause. The federal body intends to issue safety recommendations to prevent similar incidents. Local, state and federal leaders are already renewing calls for an access road they say would cut down on emergency response times.