A beloved Washingtonville bus driver died Wednesday from
serious injuries sustained in an
October bus accident.
Andy Sanchez's bus was hit head-on by a tree-servicing truck on the way to
school.
Town members remember him as comforting. They tell News 12 that Sanchez sang songs of comfort to
frightened kids on board the
crashed bus while pinned between his steering wheel and seat.
"I can only hope he knew how much he touched each and
every one of these kids' lives and the parents as well,” says Jennifer
Capicchioni, of Campbell Hall.
"We were all hoping he could keep fighting."
Capicchioni’s
daughter Gianna was one of the students on board the bus that day.
Sanchez’s
daughters released a statement regarding the tragic loss, saying in part, “We
are all hurting. Time has stood still, and it will take some time for it to
sink in that this most unfathomable tragedy has ended in this way."
Sanchez’s family’s final wish is for the community to keep his spirit
alive. An investigation into the
crash continues.