LIBERTY, N.Y. (AP) -- Three teens were seriously injured Sunday when their charter bus rammed through a guardrail, slid down an embankment, then slammed into the Middle Mongaup River.
The bus, carrying about 50 female students returning from a religious retreat, crashed just after 6 a.m. when the driver lost control at the bottom of a hill, police said.
Two of the girls were taken to Westchester Medical Center where they were in stable condition with head injuries. The third girl, who suffered an abdominal injury, was taken to Hackensack Medical Center. None of the injuries were considered life threatening.
The students, ranging in age from 14 to 18, were heading back home to Rockland County after spending the weekend in Sullivan County for a Shabbas retreat.
The bus, one of five in a convoy belonging to Excellent Bus Service Inc. of Brooklyn, skidded down the embankment on a large water main that emergency management officials said actually lessened the impact of the crash.
Many of the girls aboard the bus suffered minor injuries and were treated at area hospitals.
The cause of the accident, which happened about 88 miles northwest of New York City is under investigation. Police said the bus's 23-year-old driver was charged with driving at an unsafe speed.
