The authorities are investigating the awful Saturday morning bus crash on 1-95/New England Thruway in the Bronx that killed 14 people and injured many more. The bus, which was carrying gamblers (many of them sleeping) from Mohegan Sun to Chinatown, flipped then struck a metal pole which sheared open the bus. One passenger told the Post, "I saw people split open. It was awful. Someone was crying for help... One man lost his hands. He was alive when the emergency people took him from the bus. People were crying. People were screaming... I saw a lot of death."
The aftermath of the crash seems apocalyptic in some of the descriptions. From the NY Times, here's what Bronx resident Anthony Labriola experienced after hearing the crash at 5:30 a.m.:
He went outside, pushed through the wooded area in front of his house and saw something ghastly he did not want to see. Two women stood dazed on the highway, screaming hysterically. A man sat forlorn on the curb, his head resting in his hands. Another wandered aimlessly without shoes.
And there was the banged-up tour bus, lying incongruously on its side, carved open like a metal can. Mr. Labriola knew everyone inside could not be alive, not the ones who were silent.
Bodies were bunched with bus pieces, backpacks, purses and portions of the outside world. And body parts. Several people were missing limbs. At least one was decapitated.
The emergency response operation was delicate, in terms of rescuing survivors, removing bodies, and preventing fuel leakage; the FDNY's Capt. James Ellson told the Times, "It was a very intricate operation due to the fact that you had bodies piled on top of each other, some that were alive and some that had passed away and they were still intertwined." He was blunter to the Post, "It was just a pile of humans—on the seats, on the floor, wrapped around the wreckage. You would never want something like this wished upon your worst enemy." "The devastation and human toll is the most horrific I've seen," NYPD Capt. Matthew Galvin told the Post. The FDNY and NYPD formed a "bucket line" to remove the bodies.
The bus driver, Ophadell Williams, claimed he swerved to avoid a tractor-trailer, sending the Worldwide Tours bus onto its side near Exit 14 and then skidding hundreds of feet into the highway sign pole. NY Buff reports that Police Commissioner Ray Kelly said, "What we believe so far is that the bus was traveling west-bound in the center line. The truck was adjacent to it in the left-hand lane. The truck perhaps struck the bus or at least started moving toward the bus. The bus turned on its side and as a result, the pole of the stantion, in essence, cut the bus in half, causing everyone on the bus to be injured."
Newsday reports that police found the tractor-trailer and that investigators spoke the driver. But, the Daily News adds, "Investigators began to doubt the driver's story after studying the bus' skid marks and interviewing several passengers who said Williams drove onto the road's rumble strips three times in the minutes before the crash—making them fear he was falling asleep."
A police source told the News, "Preliminarily, it looks like he was tired. He hit the rumble strip once, woke up, dozed, hit the strip again, woke up, dozed off a third time, woke up. Fourth time, they weren't so lucky." Other witnesses say Williams was speeding.The News has a story on Williams, 40, who was slightly injured and reportedly feels guilty about the crash: He "has a rap sheet that includes a 2003 guilty plea to driving without a license" and "convictions for grand larceny and disorderly conduct."
Williams, described as a "good boy" by a neighbor, was tested at the hospital for alcohol; investigators are also looking into his activities at the casino before the drive. He had worked for Worldwide Tours for six months. Worldwide, which has a history of fatigued drivers at the Brooklyn-based bus company, said, "We are cooperating fully with investigators in trying to determine the exact sequence of events. We are a family-owned company and realize words cannot begin to express our sorrow to the families of those who lost their lives or were injured in this tragic accident."
Many of the passengers were Chinese; per NY1, "City officials agencies have set up an assistance center at the NYPD's 5th Precinct at 19 Elizabeth Street in Chinatown, where victims' families can receive information, counseling and transportation to the hospitals." The ride cost $15.
