School minibus crashes into Syosset house

A mini school bus with five youngsters inside crashed into a Syosset home Wednesday afternoon, just after the driver had picked up students at the school across the street.

The students, whose ages ranged from 5 to 8 years old, were not injured, but the driver was hospitalized.

Only two family dogs were in the house when the bus smashed the garage door of 7 Teibrook Ave. and got stuck, its back wheels several feet off the ground.

"I was basically glad it wasn't in the main house," said homeowner Dan Percell, a Verizon technician and Syosset firefighter. "About a month ago, I had a thought in my mind about a car coming through my house and then this happens today. It was kind of freaky."

The bus had just left the driveway of St. Edward the Confessor School about 3 p.m. when the driver had a "medical emergency," said Assistant Chief Peter Silver of the Syosset Fire Department.

The driver was airlifted to Nassau University Medical Center in East Meadow, where he was admitted last night in serious but stable condition, said hospital spokeswoman Shelley Lotenberg.

Late afternoon, Syosset and Bethpage firefighters set up a repair shop outside the home, cutting lumber and putting up metal uprights to shore up the house.

The garage walls and items, including Percell's golf clubs, were damaged.

The family dogs were shaken, Percell said, but he's calm, probably because he's seen cars in houses do a lot more damage.

"Next month, I'll be in the fire department for 30 years," said Percell, 49. "I've seen a lot."