Long Island Parkway Overpass Crash: 2 Teens Remain Hospitalized

A bus crash that injured more than 40 students and closed the Southern State Parkway for nearly 12 hours is still under investigation, State Police said, but seems to have been caused by the bus driver's unfamiliarity with the region.

The crash happened just after 9 p.m. Sunday when a coach bus carrying high school students, many of whom were from the Huntington area, was traveling back to Huntington from JFK Airport and slammed into a low overpass on the parkway in Lakeview. The impact ripped the top off the bus and injured nearly everyone onboard. Two of the passengers, two 17-year-old girls, were seriously injured and they remain hospitalized. All of the other passengers have been treated and released.

There were 44 occupants on the bus including the driver, 38 of whom were students ranging from 16 to 18 years old, and five adult chaperones. The students and chaperones were returning from a trip to eastern Europe.

According to New York State Police, the driver, Troy D. Gaston, 43, of Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, was using a non-commercial GPS system to guide him to Huntington. Because it was a non-commercial system, it did not warn him about the height restrictions on the parkway. Police say Gaston's planned GPS route was via the Belt and Southern State parkway. Police still need to verify the actual route through a forensic analysis of the device and passenger interviews.

Police say that they gave Gaston a breathalyzer test at the scene and there was no alcohol in his blood. He willingly submitted a blood sample to be drug checked. The results of the blood test are still pending.

Maj. David Candelaria said that Gaston was fully cooperating with the investigation.

"He showed tremendous remorse and he was incredibly sorry for the accident," Candelaria said.

Doctors at South Nassau Communities Hospital, where some of the more severely injured passengers were taken, held a press conference Monday morning to talk about the patients' progress. Doctors said the injuries ranged from bumps and bruises to broken bones, including some broken spinal bones.

"I'm surprised there were no fatalities. I think everyone was very fortunate," said Dr. Joshua Kugler, SNCH's chairman of emergency medicine. "If they were standing on the bus at any particular time when the incident occurred and became an airborne projectile, it could have had a very different outcome than what we saw last night."

According to police, the reason no one was standing was because one passenger saw the oncoming overpass and yelled, "Duck!"

The crash has sparked renewed calls for more safety measures on Long Island parkways, which don't always make the height clearances well known, especially to out-of-town drivers. Trucks hitting overpasses are common, but this is the first time a bus full of passengers was involved.

"While our thoughts remain with the injured, our office has reached out to state Department of Transportation officials and is awaiting response regarding current and any planned safety measures for this strip of highway running through the heart of our town," Hempstead Town Supervisor Laura Gillen said.

"If you have a commercial plate, you can't drive on the parkways," Candelaria said.

State police are still investigating the crash. They ask anyone who saw what happened to call 631-756-3300.

Photo: Courtesy Steve Grogan