Bronx tour bus crash on highway kills at least 13 people after bus smashes into traffic pole6
BY Bob Kappstatter, Erik Badia and Jonathan Lemire
DAILY NEWS WRITERS
Originally Published:Saturday, March 12th 2011, 7:20 AM
Updated: Saturday, March 12th 2011, 8:36 AM
Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local...le_after_bus_smashes_into_.html#ixzz1GOTEUE30
More than a dozen people were killed in a horrific crash early Saturday when a discount bus flipped on a Bronx highway and careened into a metal traffic pole, officials said.
The top of the World Wide bus, which was returning to the city from the Mohegan Sun casino, was sheared off when it hit the sign alongside the New England Thruway just after 5:45 a.m.
Officials said at least 13 people died in the sickening impact and another 20 were hospitalized.
Investigators said the bus was traveling south on I-95 to Midtown when it crashed.
Cops were searching for a tractor-trailer believed to have made contact with the bus in the moments before the deadly crash.
It was not immediately clear what caused the bus to lose control, but it overturned on the highway near Exit 14, the ramp for the Hutchinson River Pkwy.
It appeared to skid on its side for about 250 yards and directly into the massive traffic sign – and the steel pole tore through the bus’ windows.
The vehicle did not come to a rest until the pole had ripped through almost the entire length of the bus, destroying its interior. The sturdy pole, which supports a large highway sign, is built to withstand strong winds and not give way when struck.
Scores of emergency vehicles rushed to the grisly accident scene, and firefighters clamored over the crumpled bus desperate to find survivors. Injured passengers, some of whom were critically hurt, were rushed to area hospitals, including St. Barnabas and Jacobi Medical Center.
Police sources said the bus left the Connecticut casino at 3:45 a.m. and was heading to drop off passengers in Chinatown.
"Around 6 a.m., it just got crazy, crazy," said a man waiting in the Jacobi ER who gave his name as Earl. "All the patients in there were cleared out and they began wheeling all these people in."
"It was like a movie," he said.
Officials said 31 passengers were onboard the bus at the time of the crash.
It was not immediately clear where the bus originated. The website for World Wide bus, which is based in Brooklyn, says it offers service between Manhattan – at the corner of Eighth Ave. and W. 31st St – and Cambridge and Newton, Massachusetts, two Boston suburbs.
The highway was completely shut down in the aftermath of the wreck. Firefighters were using long pieces of wood to prop up the bus so they can check the undercarriage of the mangled vehicle.
jlemire@nydailynews.com
Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local...le_after_bus_smashes_into_.html#ixzz1GOT27Xid
BY Bob Kappstatter, Erik Badia and Jonathan Lemire
DAILY NEWS WRITERS
Originally Published:Saturday, March 12th 2011, 7:20 AM
Updated: Saturday, March 12th 2011, 8:36 AM
Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local...le_after_bus_smashes_into_.html#ixzz1GOTEUE30
More than a dozen people were killed in a horrific crash early Saturday when a discount bus flipped on a Bronx highway and careened into a metal traffic pole, officials said.
The top of the World Wide bus, which was returning to the city from the Mohegan Sun casino, was sheared off when it hit the sign alongside the New England Thruway just after 5:45 a.m.
Officials said at least 13 people died in the sickening impact and another 20 were hospitalized.
Investigators said the bus was traveling south on I-95 to Midtown when it crashed.
Cops were searching for a tractor-trailer believed to have made contact with the bus in the moments before the deadly crash.
It was not immediately clear what caused the bus to lose control, but it overturned on the highway near Exit 14, the ramp for the Hutchinson River Pkwy.
It appeared to skid on its side for about 250 yards and directly into the massive traffic sign – and the steel pole tore through the bus’ windows.
The vehicle did not come to a rest until the pole had ripped through almost the entire length of the bus, destroying its interior. The sturdy pole, which supports a large highway sign, is built to withstand strong winds and not give way when struck.
Scores of emergency vehicles rushed to the grisly accident scene, and firefighters clamored over the crumpled bus desperate to find survivors. Injured passengers, some of whom were critically hurt, were rushed to area hospitals, including St. Barnabas and Jacobi Medical Center.
Police sources said the bus left the Connecticut casino at 3:45 a.m. and was heading to drop off passengers in Chinatown.
"Around 6 a.m., it just got crazy, crazy," said a man waiting in the Jacobi ER who gave his name as Earl. "All the patients in there were cleared out and they began wheeling all these people in."
"It was like a movie," he said.
Officials said 31 passengers were onboard the bus at the time of the crash.
It was not immediately clear where the bus originated. The website for World Wide bus, which is based in Brooklyn, says it offers service between Manhattan – at the corner of Eighth Ave. and W. 31st St – and Cambridge and Newton, Massachusetts, two Boston suburbs.
The highway was completely shut down in the aftermath of the wreck. Firefighters were using long pieces of wood to prop up the bus so they can check the undercarriage of the mangled vehicle.
jlemire@nydailynews.com
Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local...le_after_bus_smashes_into_.html#ixzz1GOT27Xid
