6 Die in Church Van Crash on Thruway

Six members of a Bronx church group, including a bishop from Port Chester and a pastor, on their way to a banquet in Schenectady were killed Saturday on the New York State Thruway in Orange County when their van rolled over several times and crashed into a grassy median after a tire blew out, according to State Police.

Police said the 2:59 p.m. crash took place on the Thruway in Woodbury. The crash brought traffic on the Thruway to a halt in both directions as police, fire and ambulance personnel rushed to the scene of the accident. Several helicopters were called in to take victims to area hospitals, including Good Samaritan Hospital in Suffern.

Those in the van were either residents of the Bronx or Port Chester, police said.

State Police said the 14-passenger van is owned by Joy Fellowship Christian Ministries of the Bronx and was driven by Bernard Lattibuediere, 52, who survived the wreck. The group was heading to a banquet held at the Waters Edge Restaurant in Schenectady, hosted by the First Light Christian Assembly.

As the van was heading north in the left lane of traffic, police said the left rear tire failed, causing Lattibuediere to lose control of the van. Police said Lattibuediere attempted to regain control as the van left the roadway off the western shoulder, but the van overturned several times and crashed in the grassy center median. 

Nine occupants of the van were ejected in the crash, five of those suffering fatal injuries. The sixth person killed was the front seat passenger, Bishop Simon White, 55, of Port Chester, police said.

The remaining eight occupants of the van, identified by police as Veronica Francis, 54, Miriam Edwards, 41, Masie Gillespie, 68, Nanda Richards, 36, Judith Richards, 45, Charlene Mandrie, 45, of Port Chester, Joan Davis, 51 and driver were taken by helicopter and ambulance for treatment of varying levels of injuries. 

In addition to Bishop White, killed in the crash were his wife, Zelda White, 52, Pastor Titus McGhie, 66, Avril Murray, 65, Evelyn Ferguson and Elaine Reid, 65. 

State Police said Lattibuediere and Bishop White were the only two occupants required by law to be wearing seat belts were indeed using the seat belts. As the investigation of the crash continues, police said they were trying to determine if others in the van were wearing seat belts.