A severe accident involving an unlicensed teen driver and a school bus has left nine people injured, with three teenagers in critical condition.
On Wednesday, April 27, 16-year-old Erick Fuentes lost control of a Honda Accord he was driving on Lake Road in New Castle, New York, and collided with an oncoming school bus. Three teens in the car, all students from Fox Lane High School, sustained serious injuries in the crash.
Authorities reported that Fuentes veered into oncoming traffic before the collision occurred. A GoFundMe campaign set up for Fuentes disclosed that he suffered a fractured spine, a broken neck and leg, and had part of his skull removed due to a hematoma.
Seventeen-year-old Jonathan Martinez, one of the critically injured teens, was initially declared dead at the scene but was later revived by paramedics. Martinez, now on a ventilator, has a fractured femur, a brain bleed, a ruptured spleen, and spinal injuries.
Axel Cantor, the third severely injured teenager, underwent surgery for over five hours. The 16-year-old is also on a ventilator and has a brain hemorrhage, collapsed lungs, liver bleeding, and two broken legs.
The families of the critically injured teens are facing financial difficulties and have turned to GoFundMe campaigns for assistance. So far, they have raised over $142,000 in support.
Police confirmed that the five individuals on the school bus sustained minor injuries in the accident.
The reason for Fuentes’ loss of control has not been determined, and it remains unclear whether he held a learner’s permit at the time of the crash.