Boston Bus Crash Victims Reunite

Crash victims who were healthy enough to make it met on Saturday at the Destined for a Dream office in Bristol Borough.

One month after a bus crash in Boston injured nearly three dozen people from a local non-profit organization, victims of the accident reunited in Bucks County.

On February 2, a charter bus carrying passengers from the Philadelphia area struck an overpass on a road in Boston. The bus was carrying 33 students and nine chaperones from the Destined for a Dream Foundation, a non-profit group that helps underprivileged kids. In total, 35 people, including the driver, were hurt. 

Crash victims who were healthy enough to make it met on Saturday at the Destined for a Dream office in Bristol Borough. It was their first time together since the accident. Erica Waller-Hill, the head of the non-profit, told NBC10’s Katy Zachry that as horrific as the crash was, Saturday’s reunion was about healing.

"We laughed, we talked and we celebrated life," she said. "Because it could've looked so much different."

Waller-Hill says that the actual crash was a blur, but she does remember telling many of the injured students to jump from the bus into her arms.

"You go into action like never before," said Waller-Hill.

Neshaminy High School student, Matt Cruz, 17, suffered the most severe injuries. Cruz remains hospitalized at Jefferson University Hospital. He's the only crash victim still in the hospital and was too injured for his friends to see him.

"We're in his corner," said Waller-Hill. "We're rooting for him and we're the biggest cheerleaders from the sideline."

NBC10's Katy Zachry asked Waller-Hill if she plans to sue the bus company or driver. She says that right now she's letting investigators do their jobs while she does hers.

"I have students that have dreams and have goals," said Waller-Hill. "My focus is that they get healthy and they get well."

The Suffolk County District Attorney's Office in Boston says accident reconstruction reports have not yet been completed. No charges have been filed.

Destined for a Dream plans to honor Boston first responders and others who helped them during the crash.

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