A HIGH school band director and retired teacher have been killed in a horrific charter bus crash that left 40 others injured.
Gina Pellettiere, 43, and Beatrice Ferrari, 77, died after a bus taking Farmingdale High School students to band camp plummeted 50 feet off a New York highway.
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Six buses left the Long Island school on Thursday, carrying the marching band, color guard, and dancers to Greeley, Pennsylvania, for their annual trip.
One bus with 44 passengers onboard crashed on Interstate 84 in Wawayanda, New York, just about 30 minutes from its destination.
The charter bus full of students tumbled down a 50-foot embankment and landed on its side.
An issue with a front tire may have caused the crash that injured 40 people, New York Governor Kathy Hochul said.
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Five students were critically wounded and rushed to the hospital as haunting helicopter footage showed tire tracks leading off the highway.
Among the victims was Pellettiere, the beloved band director for Farmingdale High.
Her many accolades are highlighted on the Nassau-Suffolk Performing Arts website, which says she helped lead the Farmingdale Wind Ensemble to more than a dozen gold ratings over 13 years.
'HEARTBROKEN'
Families have posted heartbreaking tributes to the band director who "filled many with joy and laughter."
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"Hug your kids and loved ones a little higher this evening," Joe Ingoglia wrote in one tribute.
"Gina Pellettiere you will be beyond deeply missed. Life just isn't fair."
Another former student said that Pellettiere was influential in her life and remembered the moment she convinced her to stay in band.
"I then learned to love band and met a family I'd have for life," Gianna Camisa wrote.
"I am at a loss of words. Heartbroken. Angry. But thankful I had the opportunity and chance to meet this beautiful family and learn to feel loved."
Another person heartbroken by the horrifying death shared a photo of Pellettiere beaming while she marched with her band.
"She was by far the most passionate teacher I have ever met," Susan Perna said.
"Rest in peace Miss P. You are loved."
The Nassau Music Educators Association remembered Pellettiere as a highly skilled director who was an active member of the local music community.
"Her warm smile, infectious laugh, incredible storytelling ability, passion for life, and talent at her craft will be greatly missed by all who knew her personally and professionally," the organization said.
"Our sincerest condolences to Gina’s family, friends, students, colleagues, the Farmingdale community, and all those who mourn her passing."
Ferrari was a retired history teacher from Brooklyn who was known for helping struggling students graduate, her daughter Dina Lopresto told Newsday.
She was a staple at a local Catholic parish and was "the glue that kept the family together," Lopresto said.
'BLOOD EVERYWHERE'
Farmingdale student Anthony Eugenio, 15, was sleeping soundly when he felt a boom and started tumbling more times than he could count.
"Then everyone was yelling," he told the Associated Press.
"The kid next to me was covered in blood. I saw blood everywhere."
Eugenio only suffered some scrapes and bruises but quickly realized the severity of the situation when he climbed out of the bus.
Of the 40 people injured in the crash, three are being treated at level-one trauma center Westchester Medical Center, News 12 Long Island reported.
It took 45 minutes for first responders to get to the scene after the bus rolled.
"Today was a day of terror for 44 passengers," Governor Hochul said.
"Imagine the fear. The screams of these high school students, many of them freshmen, surrounded by this chaos.
"They endured and were strong."
The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating what led up to the crash.
Eugenio said that he was able to leave the crash site in his mother's car, with someone else's blood covering his jeans.
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He remembers looking at the traumatizing scene and immediately thinking "this can't be real."
Bruce Blakeman, the county executive in Nassau where Farmingdale High School is located, asked for people to “pray for the injured.”
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