NTSB releases documents related to fatal Farmingdale bus crash on I-84 last year

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has released documents from its investigation into last September's fatal Farmingdale High School bus crash on Interstate 84 in Wawayanda.

The federal agency will release a final report on the cause of the crash at a later date. Forty students were treated at area hospitals, but two women, a music teacher and a chaperone, died in the accident.

According to the report, bus driver Lisa Schaffer told investigators at Garnet Medical Center on Sept. 24, 2023, that she “heard the bang and the steering wheel was ripped out of my hand, so I knew exactly what it was.” that it was frontal damage.”

In the report, Schaffer added: “All I could see was my nightmare. This has always been my nightmare. The curve of the road, nothing behind it, and there I was. I wanted to go. I couldn't take it back. So things went downhill.”

The bus, en route to a band camp in Greeley, Pennsylvania, sped across I-84.

“I didn’t see anything on the street before,” Schaffer added. “I know it was on a curve because I look over the edge. And it happened so quickly.”

One of the NTSB report's key findings was that at least 41 of 44 bus occupants, including Schaffer, were not wearing seatbelts at the time of the crash. The NTSB also confirmed that the failure of the bus's left steering axle tire led to the fatal accident. Around 30 lawsuits were filed in connection with the accident.

The NTSB also interviewed several Farmingdale students about the crash and they recalled a horrific scene in the moments after the crash.

“A lot of kids around me were screaming,” one student said.

“There is no way that happened. “This must be a dream,” said another student.