A bus travelling from Connecticut to Queens, New York crashed yesterday in the city of New Rochelle. The bus was coming from a casino and was carrying 24 passengers. All 24 people were injured in the early morning crash which occurred on Interstate 95. 5 passengers were seriously injured and were later treated for deep cuts and bruises at the hospital.  Interpreters were needed at the hospital for police to conduct their interviews with the witnesses and passengers. The bus driver was found a short distance from the bus and was bleeding heavily but was conscious.

During the rescue, the bus was still running and had slowly begun to move. A State Trooper maneuvered his patrol car in front of the bus while a firefighter quickly jumped on the bus to shut it off. As police tried to ask the bus driver questions, they were having a hard time understanding him due to the language barrier. The police were trying to figure out if he jumped from the bus or was thrown from it. The driver was taken to a hospital in Brooklyn.

The preliminary reports indicate that the driver lost control of the bus. Speed and weather are considered to be two other factors that played a role in the crash. The driver may have been speeding on the slick roads.

At a rainy 6:20 a.m. the bus ran into the cement guardrail on the median of Interstate 95  and moved through three lanes of traffic on the other side where it then hit the guardrail before stopping.

The driver appears to have a valid license and has an up-to-date logbook. The bus company, Star Tag, Inc., has had no accidents in two years up until this accident. The Department of Transportation has inspected the bus line about 19 times in the past two years. However, the bus line was found to have four citations issued to their drivers for unsafe driving, mainly driver fatigue. Almost all of the inspections ended in vehicle maintenance violations, such as non-working required lamps.  This past May one of Star Tag’s buses was pulled over because it was going 15 miles over the speed limit.

The driver is doing well and is expected to recover. The accident is still under investigation and no charges have been filed.  Police are interviewing the passengers to see if the driver was distracted or had fallen asleep.

FREE CASE REVIEW

Fill out the Form Below for a Free Consult with Our Undefeated Bus Accident Lawyers

Your First Name (required)

Your Email (required)

Subject

Your Message

All communications are private and confidential.