A total of 60 children were injured after two school buses collided on the southbound Palisades Parkway near Exit 11 in New City, authorities have confirmed.
The children were taken to different hospitals near the area where the incident took place. The crash reportedly happened at around 2:30 p.m. on Monday. One of the school buses rear-ended the other bus. The lead bus slowed down and stopped while the second bus behind it kept going.
The New York State police said in a statement that the buses were from the Northern Valley Regional High School. It is located in Demarest, New Jersey and they were on their way to return home from Woodmont Day Camp in New City due to a team building field trip, CBS reported. The children spent the day at the camp doing team building and other activities available.
A total of 75 students were on board the two buses. Most of those injured have suffered only minor injuries. Rockland County Executive Ed Day confirmed that none of the injuries that the children suffered from is life-threatening. However, five of the 60 students were taken to Nyack Hospital via ambulance. Other buses took 20 students to the aforementioned hospital while more than 20 were taken to the Good Samaritan Hospital, The Journal News reported. None of their identities have been revealed.
One of the parents of the child involved in the incident, James Goudie, said that he is a little unnerved but noted that his daughter sounds okay. However, she suffered from neck injuries so they do not know what will happen in the future.
Another parent, Joanne Germinario, said that she received a text from her 15-year-old daughter. She shared, "I got a text message from my daughter telling me she was in a bus accident and that she hit her face very abruptly in the seat in front of her. She said she was in a lot of pain, but she wasn't terribly injured." The investigation is ongoing.
