Survivors of ’72 bus crash gather for remembrance
The March 24, 1972, crash remains the worst school bus accident in New York history. Five teens were killed as Joseph Larkin attempted to drive the bus across a railroad crossing as a train was coming. Survivors say that Larkin tried to outrun the train because he was late.
CONGERS, N.Y. — On Saturday, survivors of a 1972 school bus crash and their family and friends gathered for a moment of silence at the train crossing where their bus was hit, lohud.com reports.
The crash, which remains the worst school bus accident in New York history, killed five teenagers and injured dozens more on their way to Nyack High School. Joseph Larkin, a New York City firefighter working as a bus driver, was forced to take an alternate route on March 24, 1972, due to sewer repair work. Survivors said that Larkin tried to outrun the train because he was late.
The train severed the bus in half and carried it for a quarter of a mile, dragging students beneath it, lohud.com reports.
Barry Furey, who was a volunteer firefighter at the time of the crash, said that the crash was the town’s “equivalent of Sept. 11, 2001.”
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