Officials: 13 dead in NYC tour bus accident By JIM FITZGERALD and TOM HAYS, Associated Press NEW YORK – Thirteen people died Saturday when a tour bus traveling down a major highway in the Bronx was clipped by a tractor trailer, flipped onto its side and was sliced in half by the support pole for a large sign, authorities said. The wreck left a scene of carnage and closed the southbound side of Interstate-95 for hours while emergency workers attended to critically injured survivors. Police began a hunt for the driver of the tractor trailer, which did not stop after the crash, New York Police Department spokesman Paul Browne said. The bus, operated by the charter company World Wide Tours, was headed to Manhattan's Chinatown neighborhood carrying a full load of passengers returning from the Mohegan Sun casino in Uncasville, Conn. As it entered the city at around 5:30 a.m., it was struck from behind by a tractor trailer, Browne said. The bus began swerving, toppled and crashed into the support post for a highway sign indicating the exit for the Hutchinson Parkway. The pole entered through the front window, then sheared the bus from front to back along the window line, peeling the roof off all the way to the back tires. Police and fire officials say the bus was carrying at least 31 passengers. The driver survived. In addition to the fatalities, six passengers were critically hurt and four more hospitalized with less severe injuries, a Fire Department spokesman said. Eleven others sustained minor injuries. Traffic was also closed on the northbound side of the highway after the crash, but was moving again by mid-morning. http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110312/ap_on_re_us/us_tour_bus_accident
Where were they heading off to anyways? Color me a bit skeptical about the driver's story, given my (highly limited) knowledge of physics. The possibility does exist after all, that the driver was drunk/asleep, f'd up really badly, and made up the tractor story as a way cover his ass.
I would imagine it would not be just the driver. If the bus was hit by a trailer I am sure some of the surviving passengers could be witnesses. Also, in case of such a horrific accident, it would also make sense that folks in other cars who witnessed this stopped. I know I would stop to check on the people of the bus and call 911, especially if it has been cut in half, AND I have seen the perpetrator attempting a hit and run.
The possibility does not exist that the driver was drunk. think about what you just said. accident investigation!? And for that matter, there would be marks on the back of the bus, too. Also, where does it mention a quote from the driver? The quote was from a NYPD spokesperson. There were other survivors btw...and probably outside witnesses.
Not drunk (that would an easy one) but it is possible he was sleeping due to fatigue. It was about 5:30 AM or so. If there was a tractor trailer that hit the bus, investigators would not go on his story alone. They would look for witnesses. And like I said, I would imagine someone on the bus or outside would be able to corroborate that story.
That's just crazy! How could the pole stand through splitting the bus like that and not bend a little??
The pole is made of our very hard and strong steel that's designed to stand heavy wind resistance while the bus is made out of light carbon fiber, and not to mention its coming down at it at a good speed. Also, it looks like the top middle portion of it struck the pole, so the pole had no problem slicing through it with the bus coming in at such a high speed. So it wasn't like the bus struck the pole one its front bumper with the full force with its wheels still in contact with the road
