Official: NY Tour Bus Was Speeding Before Deadly Crash

VOA Breaking News (Voice of America)
March 31, 2011 at 8:00 am

A U.S. federal transportation official says a tour bus that crashed in New York City, killing 15 people earlier this month, was going more than 30 kilometers per hour faster than the speed limit.

Deborah Hersman of the National Transportation Safety Board told a U.S. Senate committee hearing Wednesday that it is too soon to determine the exact cause of the March 12 accident.

But she said there is evidence the bus was traveling at speeds up to 125 kilometers per hour when it veered off the highway and crashed into the post of a highway sign.

A lawyer for the bus driver has declined to comment.

The bus was traveling back to New York City in the early-morning hours from a trip to a casino in neighboring Connecticut.

Hersman also said a truck driver accused of bumping the bus off the road has testified he did not hit the bus but instead saw it crash in front of him. A video camera mounted to the windshield did not record the accident.