Five Killed in Pennsylvania Bus Crash; Operator Uses Lower East Side Curbside Location
Bus stop at 59 Canal St., The bus in this photo is operated by a different company with no apparent ties to the crash in Pennsylvania.
A tour bus crashed early this morning on the Pennsylvania Turnpike, about 35 miles southeast of Pittsburgh, killing 5 people and sending 60 others to area hospitals. The company running the New York-Ohio discount service operates from a curbside location at 59 Canal St. (Allen Street) here on the Lower East Side, among other locations. The Associated Press reported that this particular trip originated from Rockaway, New Jersey.
News helicopters showed images of the bus tipped over on the side of the road, along with two tractor-trailers, a FedEx truck and a passenger vehicle. Signage on the side of the bus reads, “Ohio Coach.” A reporter for The New York Times called the Canal Street location and was referred to another company, Z & D Tour, Inc. The owner, Chen Dan Yu, told The Times that Ohio Coach sold tickets for Z & D Tour. He said 56 passengers boarded the bus.
Z & D Tour is one of two operators authorized to use the intercity bus stop at 59 Canal St., although the City of New York’s permit database only lists one company at the address, Virginia Seagull Travel. According to federal records, Z & D Tour has not reported any crashes in the past two years.
The roadway was wet at the time of the crash, but officials said it’s too early to know exactly what caused the accident. The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is sending a team to the crash site. As of early this afternoon, the names of those killed had not been released. All of those injured are expected to survive, although two were listed in critical condition.
Over the years, several Chinatown/Lower East Side-based bus carriers have been involved in fatal crashes. Some of those tragedies led to the enactment of a bus permit system in New York City, but the law has failed to tame the lightly regulated intercity bus network that stretches up and down the East Coast and beyond.