Bus Accident in New York Kills 14
Fourteen people died and several others were critically injured in a New York City bus accident the morning of March 12, 2011. According to a news report in The New York Times, the horrific bus accident occurred on Interstate 95 near the Bronx line, when a casino bus swerved out of control, skidded next to a guardrail and rammed into the support pole of a freeway exit sign. The pole then smashed through the bus' front, before ripping through the entire length of the vehicle along the passenger window line.
Possible Hit-and-Run Accident
The bus driver, 40-year-old Ophadell Williams, told officials that his bus was clipped by a passing tractor-trailer, which sped away. Police are still investigating the driver's account and looking into other reports that the driver may have been speeding right before the fatal accident. The World Wide Tours bus was headed from the Mohegan Sun Casino in Connecticut to China Town. At least 14 people of the 32 on board were killed. The deceased victims ranged in age from people in their 20s to 50s. Nine were treated in area hospitals and released. Nine others suffered serious or critical injuries. The Times identifies one of the deceased victims as 66-year-old Michael Yeh, but authorities have yet to release the names of the victims.
Tragedy Strikes Several Families
I offer my deepest condolences to the families and friends of the deceased bus accident victims. The news accounts of this horrendous accident are truly heart-rending. Family members say that the impact of the collision was so bad that it was even difficult to identify their loved ones. I wish the injured victims of this bus crash the very best for a speedy and complete recovery. All these bus accident victims and their family members will definitely be in my thoughts and prayers.
Determining the Cause of the Fatal Bus Accident
Based on this news report, it is still not clear what caused this fatal bus accident. The driver maintains that he and the others were victims of a hit-and-run collision. If that is determined to be true, then I trust officials will promptly find the driver of the tractor-trailer and bring that person as well as his or her employer, the trucking company, to justice.
I strongly encourage anyone who witnessed this incident to step up and provide information on our dedicated hit-and-run web site, www.hitandrunreward.com. This web site is our way of partnering with communities to make sure that authorities receive information from the public, which will help them apprehend hit-and-run drivers and hold them accountable. Also, the web site allows for those leaving a tip to remain anonymous. Please remember that providing information in such cases is really about attending to one's civic duty. When authorities are able to establish what really happened and who was at fault, the victims and their families are provided with a sense of closure.
Protecting Victims' Rights
Officials are also trying to determine if the bus driver's negligence by traveling at an unsafe rate of speed led to the fatal injury accident. If that is determined to have been the case, the bus driver and his employer, the bus company, could be held liable for the wrongful deaths of the passengers and serious injuries that resulted. I trust investigators are analyzing the wreckage of the bus, examining the crash site, and looking into the bus driver's and bus company's logs and safety records. According to reports, safety officials had flagged World Wide Tours for fatigued drivers. The company had two injury accidents over the last two years.
Bus companies owe their passengers the standard of "the utmost duty of care." This applies to companies both, public and private. The bus company is responsible for the safety and well-being of its passengers. In my experience, it would be important here to look for any evidence of violation of procedures and how many continuous hours the bus driver had spent on-the-job. In New York State there are no vehicle and traffic laws which specifically address drowsy driving. Bus accident victims or their families would be well advised not to talk to insurance adjusters or attorneys for other parties before talking to their own lawyer, who will remain on their side, fight for their rights and look out for their best interests.
