The first day of April saw a fatal accident in Albertson, Long Island, New York when a man driving a pick up truck crossed over the painted lines in the middle of the road and crashed head-on into a charter bus. The accident took place on Roslyn Road, which has been the site of a number of serious accidents over the last several months.
According to witnesses, 43-year old Facundo R. Ponce was driving his black 2006 Dodge Dakota at 9:00 in the morning at a high rate of speed. He apparently lost control of his vehicle and crossed over the yellow line. An MCI bus was driving north on the same road. The bus driver swerved in an attempt to avoid the collision but was unsuccessful. Immediately after the accident the bus then crashed into a nearby tree. Ponce was declared dead at the scene of the accident by emergency responders.
Inspector Kenneth Lack of the Nassau County Police Department said, “According to witnesses it was driving excessively fast, lost control of the vehicle and collided with the coach bus.”
It took an hour for the bus driver and his single passenger to be freed from their vehicle; witnesses indicated that emergency services needed to use ladders and the jaws of life before finally reaching into the bus through the windows in order to get access to the injured, one of whom was then passed out of those same windows on stretchers. The two were finally transported to a nearby hospital for the treatment of serious injuries. Both the 60-year old driver and his 38-year old passenger were listed in critical condition. There is no information available as to where the bus was headed.
The police have impounded Ponce’s vehicle to inspect it to determine whether it met safety regulations: the bus was inspected on the scene and released. Both vehicles sustained heavy damage to their front ends.
In a statement released after the accident, Coach Bus Company said that their company’s top priority is safety. They also extended good wishes to the victims, saying, “Our thoughts are with those who are involved.”
According to neighbors, Roslyn Road has been the scene of several traffic fatalities and serious accidents in the last several months, including the death of two teens who crashed into a backyard, and a 98-year old man whose car ran into a garbage truck.