Tag Archives: I-95

Dozens Hurt in I-95 Tour Bus Accident | NBC New York

State police are investigating what caused a tour bus to slam into a guardrail and then a concrete wall on  I-95 in New Rochelle early Wednesday, injuring dozens and wreaking havoc on traffic. Authorities said it does not appear any other vehicles were involved in the accident between exits 15 and 16 at about 6:30 a.m. Multiple lanes on the highway were blocked off as authorities transported two dozen passengers, most of whom suffered minor neck, back and head injuries, to hospitals and tried to piece together what happened. State Police Captain Evelyn Mallard said the bus hit the center guardrail while traveling south on I-95. The forceful impact sent it veering right across three lanes and smack into a concrete wall a tenth of a mile away. No other vehicles were hit.

At some point, the bus driver got out of the vehicle or was ejected, Mallard said. He was bleeding when police got to him, but was conscious and alert. Other passengers were described as the “walking wounded.”

Mallard said the speed of the bus when it first struck the guardrail was unknown. It also wasnt known if the driver was cut off or fell asleep, or if the weather played a factor, but she said the accident could have been far worse. Deputy Fire Chief of New Rochelle Robert Benz said the bus remained in gear after hitting the concrete wall and was still coasting on the highway. A state trooper moved his cruiser in front of the bus to bring it to a halt, investigators said.The bus was headed for a hill and if it hadnt been stopped, “it would have been catastrophic,” said Mallard. According to federal safety records, the Star Tag bus company has not had any reportable accidents in the last two years. The company has a satisfactory safety rating. Investigators are reconstructing the accident at the scene.


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Read the full story: Dozens Hurt in I-95 Tour Bus Accident | NBC New York.

 

Riders say N.Y. bus crash driver swerved

Passengers and witnesses to a horrific New York City crash that sheared the top off a bus headed for Manhattan’s Chinatown and killed 14 people told investigators that the driver’s account of getting clipped by a tractor-trailer didn’t match up to what they felt and saw before the vehicle slid off the road and into a sign pole.

Driver Ophadell Williams had told police that his World Wide Tours bus was hit just as it crossed the New York City line early Saturday on a trip from the Mohegan Sun casino in Connecticut.

But passengers said Williams had already swerved at times to the right for no reason before the accident, a law-enforcement official said Sunday. The official wasn’t authorized to speak publicly about the probe and spoke on condition of anonymity.

The bus was returning to New York’s Chinatown after a quick overnight trip to the casino. The official said that passengers said they didn’t feel anything hit them and that other motorists on the interstate highway said they didn’t see the bus get hit. The official said police spoke to the tractor-trailer driver, who said he was following the bus.

via Official: Riders say N.Y. bus crash driver swerved – USATODAY.com.