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The crash happened on Wednesday, April 26 just before 3 p.m. in New Castle on Lake Road, New Castle Police said.
The incident involved a head-on collision between a school bus and a Honda Accord that somehow veered into the southbound lane on Lake Road near Crow Hill Road, injuring at least nine people, WABC reported.
This included the four teenagers who had been occupants in the Honda who suffered life-threatening injuries, police said.
A preliminary investigation by New Castle Police determined an unlicensed 16-year-old was driving a Honda Accord when the teen lost control rounding a curve and crossed into oncoming traffic striking the bus, according to WABC.
Since the crash, several fundraisers have been started to help some of the teenagers who were hurt, including: 16-year-old Axel Cantor, 17-year-old Jonathan Martinez, and 16-year-old Erick Fuentes, who had been returning to Fox Lane High School in Bedford from BOCES in Yorktown when the crash happened, according to Cantor's family member Kaitlynn Hurtado Rodriguez.
On the GoFundMe page that was started to raise money for Cantor's family, Hurtado Rodriguez wrote that Cantor, a junior, suffered a brain hemorrhage, collapsed lungs, liver hemorrhage, and two broken legs in the crash and has been left on a ventilator.
"Axel is always seen with a big smile on his face," Hurtado Rodriguez wrote, adding that any donated money would go toward Cantor's medical needs.
On the GoFundMe page that was started to raise money for Martinez, his older sister Katherine Cruz wrote that Martinez is also hooked up to a ventilator and suffered a fractured femur, a ruptured spleen, a brain bleed, and spinal injuries from the crash.
"He’s just a little boy fighting for his life now," Cruz wrote, also adding that any donated money would go toward his medical bills.
Fuentes is also in a similar situation according to his older sister Giselle, who wrote on his GoFundMe page that he had to have part of his skull removed because of a hematoma as a result of the crash.
"This is devastating but all we have left is to have faith that he will make it out alive," she wrote, adding that donated funds would also go toward his medical expenses.
As of Thursday, April 27 around noon, over $28,000 had been raised for Cantor; over $14,000 had been raised for Martinez; and just under $14,000 had been raised for Fuentes.
Those wishing to contribute funds can do so by clicking the following links:
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