Remembering 'Funny, Enthusiastic,' Band Director, Killed In Bus Crash

MASSAPEQUA, NY — A beloved music teacher is being remembered.

Gina Pellettiere, 43, of Massapequa, was one of two people who died in the bus crash Thursday in Orange County.

Pellettiere, the Farmingdale High School band director, was leading students to an annual band camp in Pennsylvania when the charter bus overturned in a wooded embankment.

Molly Tittler Ingoglia was close friends with her, meeting Pellettiere 20 years ago while they were attending Hofstra University.

"I immediately gravitated toward her because she was funny [and ] enthusiastic," Ingoglia told Patch. "She was a leader. She played trumpet; I played the French horn and we were both women and we bonded over that."

The relationship only grew from that. She would accompany Pellettiere at the Farmingdale band camp.

"Every year we would make like a pilgrimage to Greeley [Pennsylvania]. It was just like the best time," Ingogli said. "It rejuvenated my teaching. I loved watching her with the students."

One of those students was part of the band and chorus at Farmingdale, but started out her high school career not wanting to participate in band-- until "Ms. P" encouraged her.

"I went to band camp and I had the best experience of my life," the student, who didn't want to give her name, told Patch. "I was just in complete shock because I never knew I could like band."

Pellettiere "knew every single kid's name. They were so loyal to her," Ingoglia said.

She also was a favorite of her students because of her infectious smile and "she would never yell at anyone," the student remembered. Pellettiere would love to use the word "dude" as a term of affection.

"She would do it in a cool, calming voice," the student said.

The real treat was having a one-on-one "performance" with her teacher.

"Sometimes she would just play with me. It was just amazing. She felt like she was a part of the band. She wasn't just a teacher," the student said. "She made it a family."

Ingoglia was close enough that they could feel like sisters, traveling many times over the years.
"We spent a lot of time together. It's just unbelievable to me that I'm telling you these things in the past tense," Ingoglia said. "I loved her."

But the friendship was cemented once Pellettiere's son was born in 2021, as they shared parenting experiences.

"I was actually the first one to call out that she was pregnant," the former student said when Pellettiere asked if anyone knew what was different about her.

"Becoming a mother was the highlight of her life," an emotional Ingoglia said. "She loved that baby so much."

"She showed little baby Thomas all the time on camera," the ex-student recalled.

Pellettiere was a single mom to the toddler.

"It doesn't seem fair that she only had such a short time with him," Ingoglia said.