1972 — March 24, high school bus fails to stop at crossing, hit by train, Congers, NY — 5

–5 Associated Press. “Train-bus crash claims 5th life.” Oneonta Star, NY, 4-13-1972, p. 1.
–5 Easley, Hema. “40 years is like 1 day to survivors: Rockland…” Lohud.com, 3-24-2012.

Narrative Information

Easley/Lohud.com: “Congers — Irene Ferrara still recalls the bright headlight of the freight train rushing toward her moments before it hit the school bus she was riding that crisp, sunny morning 40 years ago. The crash killed five teens and injured dozens of others who were on their way to Nyack High School. The impact severed the bus in half, wrapping the front section like a horse shoe onto the front of the train. The train lurched a quarter mile, dragging children beneath its wheels before it came to a stop. “I heard kids in the front yell to the driver, ‘Stop, the train is coming!’” said Ferrara, who was then a 16-year-old sophomore.

“The crash on Gilchrest Road in Congers was the worst school bus accident in New York history… It led to a half-dozen bus safety laws, mandatory bus driver training programs were implemented and some of the most stringent school bus construction specifications were created.

“Survivors later said Joseph Larkin, a New York City firefighter moonlighting as a bus driver, was trying to beat the train. He was late that morning and unable to follow the regular route because of sewer repair work. He reversed his route and was driving to Nyack with 49 teens when he approached the Erie and Penn Central rail crossing at Gilchrest Road at 7:55 a.m. The crossing had no gate and no warning lights….

“Until the day he died in 2000, Larkin maintained that he did not see or hear the train. He was convicted of five counts of criminally negligent homicide and sentenced to five years’ probation….” (Easley, Hema. “40 years is like 1 day to survivors: Rockland train-school bus crash killed 5, rewrote safety laws.” Lohud.com, 3-24-2012.)

Newspaper

March 24, United Press International: “Congers, N.Y. (UPI) – A Penn Central freight train smashed into a school bus at a crossing here today, killing at least three children and injuring 40 others, many critically. The train sliced the bus in two, dragging part of it 1,000 feet along the tracks and strewing children along the way, police said. The bus was carrying students from the South Congers area to Nyack High School when it was struck by the train shortly before 8 a.m., police said. Patrolman Don Cocker of the Clarkstown police said five of the injured students had limbs amputated in the accident and at least 40 injured students were taken to Nyack Hospital….

“Cocker said police had been unable to question the driver who was also hospitalized, but it was believed the bus was moving when it was struck by the train at a crossing marked with a sign but without crossing barriers.

“Two students were pronounced dead at the scene, police said, and a third died later at a nearby hospital. Ned Meara, who lives near the crossing, said the bus was ‘a tangled mess of steel’ after the collision with the three-engine, 83-car train.

“The National Transportation Safety Board dispatched thee investigators from Washington to probe the accident.” (UPI. “P-C Train Hits School Bus; At Least 3 Dead.” Evening Observer, Dunkirk, NY. 3-24-1972, p. 1.)

March 25: “Congers, N.Y. (AP) – A freight train rammed into a school bus at a rural grade crossing Friday, killing three high school pupils and injuring 47 persons, eight of them critically. Bus wreckage was scattered along the track for a quarter mile….

“The engineer, Charles Carpenter, told newsmen, “I saw the bus coming. It didn’t look like it was going to stop, and I put her into emergency right away.” He said the train, bound from Weehawken, N.J., to Selkirk, N. Y., was going about 25 miles per hour.

“The bus driver, Joseph Larkin of Stony Point, N.Y., was being treated with other injured at Nyack Hospital and could not be questioned.

“A spokesman for Penn Central Railroad said the accident took place at 7:55 a.m. at what he described as a “private” crossing, with no warning gates, lights or bells. It does have a railroad sign. He said the crossing was not on a federal, state or county road, and that the railroad is not required to have gates or flashing lights at such crossings. An area resident said community members had been seeking installation of warning devices at the crossing, where there is a slight grade, for two years.

“All of the dead were from Valley Cottage….” (Oneonta Star, NY. “3 die, 47 injured as train rams school bus.” 3-25-1972, p. 1.)

March 26: “Congers, N.Y. (UPI) — Federal, state and local investigators Saturday questioned student survivors of Friday’s school bus-train collision to determine whether the bus driver had stopped the vehicle before proceeding into an unprotected grade crossing.

“The driver, Joseph Larkin, a 35-year-old moonlighting New York City fireman, reportedly told
investigators he had halted the bus, as required by state law. But some students who survived the collision, in which three boys died and 43 students were injured, disagreed with his reported claim. ‘He hesitated to stop, but he kept on going. He was going too fast to stop.’ said Patty Bundick, an 18-year-old senior at Nyack High School, where the bus was taking its 49 student passengers. Some students said the bus had not stopped while others said it had halted only momentarily….

“Engineer Charles Carpenter, whose Penn Central freight train slammed into the bus at the crossing, told police, however, Larkin ‘never stopped at all. Carpenter said he ‘frantically’ blew his horn and set his emergency brakes when he saw the bus approaching the crossing. However, he was unable to halt the train and it sliced into the bus, cutting it in half and dragging a part of the vehicle about a quarter of a mile, strewing children, books and papers along the tracks. ‘The kids were spread all over the countryside.’

“The rail crossing near this hamlet 25 miles north of New York City was marked only by warning signs and has no gates or lights. Authorities said the crossing was not part of the regular bus route. Sewer construction on King’s Highway resulted in the rerouting of the bus route earlier this week.

“Sources close to the probe said the investigators believed the train had obeyed safety regulations and was traveling less than 30 miles an hour. The question, they said, was whether Larkin had violated the state law which requires school bus drivers to come to a halt not less than 15 feet from railroad tracks and look both ways before proceeding.” (Sunday Record, Middletown, NY. “Students say bus didn’t stop at rail crossing.” 3-26-1972. p. 8.)

March 27: “New York, N.Y. (AP) – Rockland County Dist. Atty. Robert R. Meehan says the school bus cut in half by a freight train Friday did not stop before crossing the railroad tracks as required by state law.

“Four Nyack High School students were killed in the crash and 45 other youngsters were injured. Seven were still in critical condition early today. Three of the students died Friday. The fourth, Thomas Grosse, 14, of Valley Cottage, died at 6:45 a.m. today.

“….The district attorney’s preliminary findings, announced Sunday, came after questioning 16 injured students, the train crew and two witnesses to the accident at a crossing on Congers, N.Y….

“The 35-year-old bus driver was not interviewed, Meehan said, because he exercised his constitutional right to remain silent.

“State law requires that buses come to a full stop at railroad crossings and proceed across tracks with the door open.

“The accident Friday occurred at 7:56 a.m., Meehan said. He said Larkin was to have reported to his fireman’s job in Manhattan 25 miles away at 9 a.m. after delivering the students to the school three miles from the wreck scene and returning the bus to it garage another four miles away.

“The Rockland District Attorney’s statement came after a memorial service for the three victims, James McGuiness, Robert Mauterer and Richard Macaylo …[of] Valley Cottage….

“Residents in the area of the Congers accident said they had asked for more than two years that the railroad be required to install warning devices at the crossing….” (AP. “‘School Bus Didn’t Stop,’ According to Rockland DA.” The Daily Freeman, Kingston, NY. 3-27-1972, p. 1.)

April 13: “Nyack, N.Y. (AP) – Last month’s collision of a school bus and train near Congers, N.Y., claimed a fifth life Wednesday with the death at Nyack Hospital of Stephen Ward, 16, of Valley Cottage. Hospital officials said young Ward, in a coma since the accident March 24, died of head injuries at 2:55 p.m. He had been the most critically hurt of 45 injured survivors….”
(Associated Press. “Train-bus crash claims 5th life.” Oneonta Star, NY, 4-13-1972, p. 1.)

Sources

Associated Press. “‘School Bus Didn’t Stop,’ According to Rockland DA.” The Daily Freeman, Kingston, NY. 3-27-1972, p. 1. Accessed 1-26-2022 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/kingston-daily-freeman-mar-27-1972-p-1/

Associated Press. “Train-bus crash claims 5th life.” Oneonta Star, NY, 4-13-1972, p. 1. Accessed 1-26-2022 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/oneonta-star-apr-13-1972-p-1/

Easley, Hema. “40 years is like 1 day to survivors: Rockland train-school bus crash killed 5, rewrote safety laws.” Lohud.com, 3-24-2012. Accessed 3-26-2012 at: http://www.lohud.com/article/20120324/NEWS03/303240063/40-years-like-1-day-survivors-Rockland-train-school-bus-crash-killed-5-rewrote-safety-laws

Oneonta Star, NY. “3 die, 47 injured as train rams school bus.” 3-25-1972, p. 1. Accessed at: http://newspaperarchive.com/fullpagepdfviewer?img=54832678&sterm

Sunday Record, Middletown, NY. “Students say bus didn’t stop at rail crossing.” 3-26-1972. 8. At: http://newspaperarchive.com/fullpagepdfviewer?img=132162919&sterm=school+bus+train

United Press International. “P-C Train Hits School Bus; At Least 3 Dead.” Evening Observer, Dunkirk, NY. 3-24-1972, p. 1. Accessed 1-26-2022 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/dunkirk-evening-observer-mar-24-1972-p-1/