Time 05:30 EST Date 12 March 2011 Injuries 17 | Non-fatal injuries 17 Total number of deaths 15 | |
 | ||
The World Wide Tours bus crash took place on March 12, 2011, resulting in the deaths of fifteen people.
Contents
The crash took place before dawn at about 5:30 a.m. in the southbound lanes of the New England Thruway segment of Interstate 95 at the border between The Bronx and Westchester County, New York. The bus was returning to Chinatown, New York City from Mohegan Sun casino in Uncasville, Connecticut. The bus swerved and collided with a metal sign pole, which ripped through the bus and tore off most of its roof. Thirteen passengers died at the scene, a further two died at hospitals, and the remaining 17 people on board, including the driver, were injured.
Conditions of the crash
Some surviving passengers have said that the driver, Ophadell Williams, fell asleep at the wheel. He was not charged initially, pending investigation. Williams said that he was awake and sober at the time of the accident. The bus driver blamed the accident on a tractor-trailer that he swerved to avoid, causing the bus to flip on its side and crashed into an overhead highway sign which split the bus in half. He said the two possibly hit each other.
The crash triggered an investigation by the New York State Police and National Transportation Safety Board.
Preliminary NTSB findings
A preliminary report by the NTSB in April 2011 found that the bus was going 78 miles per hour (126 km/h) at the time of the crash, 28 faster than the posted 50 miles per hour (80 km/h) speed limit. The report found that the bus had been exceeding the speed limit on I-95 45 seconds before it veered off the highway. The report said that there was no evidence of contact between the bus and a passing truck, as claimed by the driver. The truck driver was located by authorities, denied the bus driver's account and was cleared of responsibility. State officials revoked the bus driver's driving privileges after reports became public of Williams’s criminal record, which includes having served time for convictions of manslaughter and larceny.
Prosecution of Ophadell Williams
The driver, Ophadell Williams, was charged by the Bronx County District Attorney's office with 54 felony and misdemeanor counts, including charges of criminally negligent homicide and manslaughter. Williams was held in custody from September 2011 until the end of his trial, because he was unable to meet the $250,000 bail requirement. On December 7, 2012, the jury found Williams not guilty of all charges except one count of misdemeanor aggravated unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle.