Megabus Crash Under Investigation

The cause of the Megabus crash that killed four and injured 20 on Saturday remains a mystery, as police continue the investigation.
Megabus Crash Under Investigation
9/12/2010
Updated:
9/12/2010
The cause of the tragic Megabus crash that killed four and injured 20 on Saturday still remains a mystery, as police continue the investigation.

The double-decker bus, operated by Coach USA, slammed into a railroad bridge on the Onondaga Lake Parkway in Salina, a suburb of Syracuse, N.Y. The accident happened around 2.30am during the routine Philadelphia-Toronto trip.

Coach USA says 59-year-old driver, John Tomaszewski, made the wrong turn, as the bus was off-route at the time of the accident. What caused the driver to get lost is unclear, as Tomaszewski is reported to have made the Toronto trip many times before.

Investigators say the driver was not intoxicated at the time of the crash. He has severe head injuries and is currently in hospital, suffering confusion. It may be days before he can provide evidence of what went wrong.

“He’s been co-operative, and as of last night he still didn’t know how he ended up where he was,” Onondaga Sheriff Kevin Walsh said in the CTV report.  

Walsh said the bus was supposed to make a stop in Syracuse. But Tomaszewski turned the wrong way after leaving the highway and apparently never noticed the flashing signs cautioning against the low bridge ahead.

The Megabus had 28 passengers, including seven Canadians all of whom walked away with minor injuries.

The deceased have been identified as Kevin Coffey, 19, of Manhattan, Ashwani Mehta, 39, of India, and Rev. Benjamin Okerie, 35, of Malaysia. The fourth victim was 18-year-old Deanna Armstrong of Vorhees, N.J.

Passengers Ray and Vickie Reed of Dundas, Ontario, were sleeping when the bus hit the bridge.

“I woke up thinking ‘Oh my God, what just happened?’ It was like a movie, but we were in the movie,” Ms. Reed told CTV News.

This was the latest crash in a series of Megabus accidents over the last 12 months.

CBS news reports that last Dec. 10, a double-decker bus heading to Toronto overturned on the New York Thruway during a snowstorm, injuring 12 people.

Then, on Dec. 21, a Megabus driving from New York City to Toronto went off the road near Buffalo. No fatalities resulted from the accidents.

Megabus.com provides budget travel for popular routes between Toronto and cities in the state of New York.