Driver Of NYC-Bound Tour Bus Dies After Hitting Truck On Pa. Highway
DONEGAL, Pa. (CBSNewYork/AP) -- A bus carrying Asian tourists headed to Flushing, Queens rear-ended a flatbed tractor-trailer on the Pennsylvania Turnpike on Monday, killing the bus driver and injuring nearly two dozen passengers, officials said.
The driver was a 39-year-old man from New York, state police said. The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review identified him as Bo Hua Tan, citing Deputy Coroner John A. Ackerman.
The bus was carrying 35 passengers, 24 people were taken to the hospital -- including one passenger who was airlifted.
Most passengers were later released, but the condition of the airlifted passenger was still unclear.
The accident happened at about 7:30 a.m. near the near the Donegal exit, about 40 miles east of Pittsburgh. The turnpike was shut down for the crash investigation until 12:30 p.m.
The driver of the flatbed tractor-trailer sustained moderate injuries.
The tour bus was registered to Mr. Ho Charter Service of Bethlehem. A man who answered the phone for that company identified himself as Edward Ho and said the bus was carrying two drivers, who alternated during the trip from Kentucky to New York City. One driver was unhurt, Ho said.
Federal safety records show the company was over the acceptable threshold for drivers who are cited for fatigued driving, with a 68.9 percent score. Anything over 50 percent is over the threshold.
Since February, a series of major bus crashes have resulted in fatalities across the country. Fifteen people were killed in March when a bus rolled on its side and struck a pole in the Bronx, shearing the top off much of the vehicle.
Last month, four people died when a bus crashed after the driver dozed off at the wheel in Virginia and a 6-year-old boy died in a crash in Kentucky.
(TM and Copyright 2011 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2011 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
