FATALITIES IN SYRACUSE BUS ACCIDENT
From: New York attorney Gary E. Rosenberg (personal injury and accident attorney and lawyer; serving Brooklyn Queens Bronx; Queens Accident Lawyer)
A large double-decker bus driving from Philadelphia to Toronto slammed into a bridge near Syracuse on Saturday, September11, 2010, at about 2:30 AM.
Twenty six passengers were loaded onto a double-decker MegaBus Friday night in Pennsylvania. They were northbound to Syracuse, Buffalo, and eventually Toronto.
A New York City woman, Christine Alderman, age 44, was among those hospitalized Saturday after the Megabus slammed into a bridge outside of Syracuse, New York, and flipped over.
Four people were killed and more than 20 others injured.
Bus driver John Tomaszewski had a bus full of sleepy passengers just before 2:30 a.m. Saturday when he missed the turn for the Regional Transportation Center on Park Street after exiting Interstate 81 North.
Tomaszewski headed down Onondaga Lake Parkway looking for a way back to the station -- unaware that his double-decker Megabus was too tall for the bridge that it was about to hit.
Tomaszewski, 59, who received his commercial driver's license in December and began driving
for Megabus in the spring, has not told sheriff's investigators why he missed several warning signs before hitting the bridge.
Tomaszewski said he was driving slowly through the early morning darkness, going about 35 mph in a 55 mph zone, and using a global positioning satellite unit to find his way.
Sheriff's investigators do not believe Tomaszewski tried to brake before hitting the 10-foot, 9-inch CSX railroad bridge over the parkway, Walsh said.
"He never saw the bridge," a spokesman said. "He just hit the bridge."
About 75 firefighters and ambulance workers from many fire departments responded.
Bus driver Tomaszewski was conscious and talking after the crash, "but not making a lot of sense."
By mid morning on Saturday, the bus was being hauled away. Investigators were still on scene working to piece this case together. One main question was how and why was the driver travelling off his designated route, down the Onondaga Lake Parkway?
Officials for Coach USA say they don't know why the driver, who is also in the hospital, took a different route -- one with vehicle height restrictions and warning signs. Megabus officials told sheriff's investigators Tomaszewski had driven the usual route about eight to 10 times; Tomaszewski told investigators he'd driven it about 20 times.
"He had some large cuts on him, down the side of his face. He was bleeding pretty good," a witness said.
Tomaszewski, of Yardville, N.J., was released Sunday from Upstate University Hospital.
The Sheriff's department is investigating what led to the crash and if any criminal charges will be filed.
