Fox Lane High School students in critical condition after head-on school bus crash
VALHALLA, N.Y. - Several Westchester County high school students are fighting for their lives after their car crashed head-on into a school bus Wednesday.
It happened shortly after 2 p.m. in New Castle.
Police say the driver of the sedan was a 16-year-old without a license
We are told five people were on the bus, and they all sustained non-life threatening injuries, but three of the four male teens that were in the Honda Accord are in critical condition.
The footage from Lake Road in New Castle Wednesday is chilling: A mangled Honda Accord after police say it lost control while rounding a curve, crossed into oncoming traffic and struck the school bus head on.
The two 16-year-olds and two 17-year-olds in the car attend Fox Lane High School in Bedford, but one student is also in a BOCES program about 20 minutes away, where they may have been traveling to, or from.
"It was shock, and just so saddened by what had happened," Bedford Schools Superintendent Dr. Robert Glass said.
Counselors were on hand at the high school Thursday as online fundraising pages for three of the four students detail that they are on ventilators. Relatives posted they have several broken bones, one has a brain hemorrhage and another has spinal injuries.
Police say there were two high school students from Yorktown Central School District, the driver and two monitors on the bus. A rep for that school district said "We look forward to a speedy recovery" as police confirmed two students and one monitor were released from the hospital.
The 62-year-old driver and another monitor are still being treated for non-life-threatening injuries.
Watch Lisa Rozner's report
How and why an unlicensed 16-year-old was behind the wheel are some of the questions investigators are asking.
His father told CBS2 off camera that his son has a learner's permit and was about to get his license. The family says the 16-year-old suffered a broken neck and underwent a surgery Thursday.
"Everyone's putting their positive energy out to our families. We realize everybody's hurting," Glass said. "I hear great things about the character of these students and, you know, they're just special people."
Fundraising pages said at least two of the students worked at the Rockin' Jump in Mount Kisco.
The tragedy comes one month after police said a 16-year-old unlicensed driver lost control and crashed while driving on the Hutchinson River Parkway in Scarsdale. He and four children passengers died.
The next day, Westchester County Executive George Latimer addressed the issue of underage drivers.
"According to New York state law, you are not to operate a vehicle if you're under the age of 18 at night under any circumstances an you're not to operate a vehicle daytime hours unless an adult is present in vehicle," Latimer said.
No charges have been filed.
The Westchester County DA is investigating.
