Bus driver indicted in New York crash which killed 15

[News_Editor]

Bus driver indicted in New York crash which killed 15

2011-09-02 07:03:16 GMT+7 (ICT)

NEW YORK (BNO NEWS) -- The driver of the World Wide Tours bus which crashed in the New York City Borough of the Bronx in March was indicted on 15 counts of manslaughter on Thursday, prosecutors said. Fifteen people died in the accident.

Ophadell Williams, 40, also known as Eric Williams, from Brooklyn, surrendered himself to New York State Police on Thursday morning and was subsequently arraigned before State Supreme Court Justice George Villegas who set his bail at $250,000.

It is alleged that, on March 12, Williams was returning from an overnight excursion to the Mohegan Sun Casino in Connecticut before taking the wheel of the World Wide Tours bus, which crashed before dawn.

The tour bus was carrying 32 people and flipped over on its right side on Interstate 95 on the New England Thruway at the Hutchinson River Parkway in the Bronx. The bus slid around 300 feet (91 meters) until hitting a pole at the height of its windshield, slicing the bus almost in half and tearing off its roof. The accident killed 15 people and injured 15 others.

At the time of the accident, some of the 17 passengers who survived said the bus began swerving several times and traveling at high speeds before the accident. Williams explained to police that he lost control of the bus after being hit by a tractor truck from behind.

After an extensive five month long investigation, Williams was charged with fifteen counts of manslaughter in the second degree, and fifteen counts of criminally negligent homicide in the deaths of fifteen passengers, seven counts of assault in the second degree, and sixteen counts of assault in the third degree for injuries to fifteen other passengers.

"This tragedy is compounded by the fact that we believe that it was completely avoidable," said Bronx District Attorney Robert T. Johnson. "As the charges indicate, this defendant stands accused of recklessly causing multiple deaths and injuries to his passengers in that he recognized the risk that his conduct posed to their safety and well being of others, and yet chose to ignore that risk."

In addition, Johnson said that Williams' responsibility was to take proper precautions to safeguard his passengers, which was easily achievable. "We are alleging that Mr. Williams was not only aware of what precautions to take but made a series of conscious decisions not to take them," he added.

If convicted, Williams faces a maximum sentence of up to 15 years imprisonment for second degree manslaughter, 7 years imprisonment for second degree assault, and up to 4 years imprisonment for criminally negligent homicide.

In addition, Williams was also charged with assault in the third degree, which is punishable by a maximum sentence of up to one year in jail. He also faces a number of other charges such as reckless driving and aggravated unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle.

Before being charged with the bus crash, Williams' had an extended criminal record. Among his past arrests and convictions are aggravated unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle, driving with a suspended license and unlawful possession of radio devices and police scanners.

In addition, he had previously served three years in jail for a manslaughter conviction in April 1992. In a 1998 grand larceny conviction, he served four years in state prison. State police also began an investigation on how Williams was able to receive a commercial driver's license despite his previous convictions.

-- © BNO News All rights reserved 2011-09-02