Sister of unlicensed driver in NY crash that injured 9 explains why he was behind wheel

By Tim McNicholas

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    VALHALLA, New York (WCBS) — A 16-year-old in Westchester County is fighting for his life after crashing head on into a school bus.

On Monday night, his sister shared what happened before the crash and a word of warning for drivers.

Westchester Medical Center says as of Monday morning doctors were still treating nine people from last week’s crash, including three who are in critical condition — the boys who were in a Honda Accord that crashed into the bus.

“Erick is the type of person to always make you smile,” Stefanie Fuentes said.

Stefanie Fuentes wants nothing more than to smile with her brother. Instead, she says he is on a ventilator, suffering from a broken neck and several other serious injuries.

“His brain started swelling again this morning, so they might have to go in again and have another surgery,” Fuentes said.

Police say on April 26 the 16-year-old, unlicensed driver lost control of the Honda while rounding a curve on Lake Road near Crow Hill Road in New Castle, slamming head on into a school bus, injuring at least nine people. Three other Fox Lane High School students were in the car with Erick.

“I just remember going up to my dad and I just started like begging God. I was like, ‘Put me in your hands.’ Ya know, just begging,” Fuentes said.

The Fuentes family says Erick had a learner’s permit, which means he needed an adult with him to legally drive, but no adults were in the car.

In March, police say another unlicensed 16-year-old veered off the Hutchinson River Parkway, killing the driver and four other kids.

A report from the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety found 18% of all deadly crashes involve a driver without a valid license.

“It’s a bad problem, and generally unlicensed drivers have not had the training, the vetting necessary, let’s say,” AAA Northeast’s Robert Sinclair said.

Stefanie Fuentes, who is 18, said she has a license and drove Erick to school the day of the crash. But he texted her during school and said he was worried about missing an off-campus educational program in Yorktown called BOCES.

“I just remember him saying, ‘I missed the bus to BOCES.’ And that was it. So I gave him the key, and, honestly, my intentions were to never … I never expected this to happen,” she said.

Fuentes says Erick went to BOCES and later told her he was going to drop off his friends.

“And that was the last time I spoke to him,” she said.

When asked if she thinks there’s any kind of word of warning or a lesson for parents or drivers out there,” Fuentes said, “Honestly, I just think that everybody should be careful.”

Fuentes said she’s not sure if Erick will be able to talk again, but she does know he will needs months of physical therapy.

She said the families of all three of the students in critical condition have been beyond grateful for the money people have donated to the GoFundMe pages for their medical expenses.

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