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Passengers in Fatal Chinatown Tour Bus Crash Sue Driver for Negligence

By Patrick Hedlund | March 24, 2011 12:45pm | Updated on March 24, 2011 6:01pm
Emergency personnel investigate the scene of a bus crash on I-95 in the Bronx on Sat., March 12.
Emergency personnel investigate the scene of a bus crash on I-95 in the Bronx on Sat., March 12.
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AP Photo/David Karp

By Patrick Hedlund

DNAinfo News Editor

CHINATOWN — A pair of passengers on the Chinatown-bound bus that crashed in the Bronx killing 15 people is suing the bus company and driver for negligence.

Two riders filed separate lawsuits this week against carrier World Wide Travel and driver Ophadell Williams, who passengers claimed dozed off during a return trip from a Connecticut casino on March 12.

Chinatown resident Yuke Chue Lo, 74, and Brooklyn resident Erold Jean Marie, 47, were both injured when the bus flipped on I-95 in the early morning, slamming into a highway sign that nearly ripped the coach's roof off.

Lo's lawyer explained that his client's suit, which charges "wanton, reckless and careless acts of the defendants," seeks $20 million in damages for the injuries she suffered, including a fractured skull, brain trauma, facial scarring and fractured ribs.

Passengers boarded a bus in Chinatown last week.
Passengers boarded a bus in Chinatown last week.
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DNAinfo/Patrick Hedlund

"He's the driver of the bus and has absolute responsibility to drive it in a safe and reasonable manner," attorney Andrew Finkelstein said of Williams.

"Although his conscious won't allow him to acknowledge what really happened, the truth is he drove the bus in manner that killed 15 people and seriously injured a dozen more."

Jean Marie's lawyer, who is seeking $200 million in damages, also claimed Williams is lying and added that his client even yelled out to the bus driver after he twice veered onto the highway's shoulder just before the crash.

"The amount of carnage that they all went through — there were decapitations and body parts were severed," attorney Herb Subin said, noting that Jean Marie suffered spinal and severe shoulder injuries in the incident. "No person should have to endure that."

Williams claimed that a tractor-trailer clipped the bus while he was driving, forcing it to topple over.

The National Transportation and Safety Board is currently investigating evidence from the wreck, including video surveillance and the vehicle's "black box," to determine the cause.

Meanwhile, the governor's office announced Thursday that an investigation by the state Department of Motor Vehicles led to the arrest of two commercial bus drivers accused of using false names to obtain their driver licenses.

The two drivers, who had suspended commercial driver licenses in one name, allegedly used aliases to obtain a second commercial license.

Williams had his license suspended last week after a state investigation revealed that he allegedly lied about the status of his license on an application, possibly to cover the fact that he had been using multiple names and had a suspension under one of those names.

Finkelstein charged that World Wide Travel allowed Williams on the road without executing a proper background check and "looked the other way" regarding his alleged falsified application.

One of the drivers arrested this week worked for a Queens-based school-bus operator, while the other worked for a carrier in the same borough that had the ability to transport both schoolchildren and "for hire" passengers, the governor's office added.

The City Council unanimously approved a resolution Wednesday urging the state to pass proposed legislation that would establish a bus permitting system for passenger pickups and drop-offs.