FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM SEPTEMBER 21, 2017 • THE QUEENS COURIER 3
WHY DID THIS HAPPEN?
Probe continues into violent and deadly Flushing bus crash
BY ROBERT POZARYCKI AND
SUZANNE MONTEVERDI
Police are continuing to investigate a
crash in Flushing on Monday morning
that left three people dead and 16 people
hospitalized.
A total of 16 people were reported
injured from the crash — “several of
whom are critical and are fi ghting for
their lives,” Mayor Bill de Blasio said
at a press conference that same morning.
All are being treated at local hospitals.
Th e National Transportation Safety
Board (NTSB) is now part of the crash
investigation.
According to the FDNY, the crash
occurred at about 6:15 a.m. on Sept. 18
at the intersection of Northern Boulevard
and Main Street, where a tour bus operated
by the Dahlia Travels and Tours
smacked into an MTA bus.
Police said that the tour bus was heading
eastbound on Northern Boulevard
when it collided with a Q20 bus traveling
northbound on Main Street that was
attempting to turn onto the boulevard’s
eastbound lanes. Fift een people were on
board the Q20 bus at the time, it was
reported.
Th e tour bus then smashed into a nearby
building, sparking a small fi re that
was quickly extinguished, the Daily News
reported.
MTA Chairman Joe Lhota, who also
spoke at the press conference, noted the
buses were moving at such high speeds
that the impact spun both buses around.
Th e chairman said authorities investigating
are “very concerned about the speed.”
Th e investigation is in the preliminary
stages and authorities “do not yet have a
reliable videotape to work from,” de Blasio
said. Sections of Northern Boulevard and
Main Street remain closed to traffi c as the
probe continues.
On Monday aft ernoon, police identifi
ed the victims as Raymond Mong, 49, of
College Point Boulevard in College Point,
who operated the tour bus; Gregory
Liljefors, 55, of 140th Street in Flushing,
a passenger on board the Q20 bus; and
Henry Wdowiak, 68, of 35th Avenue in
Flushing, a pedestrian who was walking at
the intersection when the crash occurred.
Scores of fi refi ghters, police offi cers and
EMS units responded to the incident. De
Blasio, Lhota and NYPD Assistant Chief
Juanita Holmes also responded to the scene.
Lhota said that the Q20 bus driver suffered
injuries that were not life-threatening
and is speaking with investigators.
Photos by Robert Stridiron/RHS NEWS
Emergency workers investigate an accident between a tour bus and an MTA bus in downtown
Flushing.
Tour bus operator had poor safety
record; pols demand action
BY ROBERT POZARYCKI
rpozarycki@qns.com / @robbpoz
The Flushing-based charter company
that operated a bus involved in Monday’s
deadly crash scored poorly on federal
safety ratings, two city lawmakers said on
Tuesday.
Dahlia Travel and Tour Bus, located at
127-27 34th Ave. in Willets Point, owned
the charter bus which smashed into a Q20
bus at the corner of Northern Boulevard
and Main Street on the morning of Sept.
18. Th e tour bus driver, Raymond Mong,
was among the three fatalities.
As the investigation into the crash
continues, two City Council members
— Ydanis Rodriguez, who chairs the
Council’s Transportation Committee,
and Peter Koo, who represents Flushing
— called on the city to further regulate the
private bus industry.
Th ey pointed out that Dahlia Travel
and Tour Bus has a prior history of deadly
accidents and scored poorly on Federal
Motor Carrier Safety Administration ratings,
ranking it worse than 81 percent of
other charter bus operators nationwide.
Th e New York Times also reported on
Sept. 19 that Mong previously worked as
an MTA bus driver but was fi red in 2015
aft er being personally involved in a threecar
collision in Connecticut. He was subsequently
convicted on charges of
driving under the infl uence and
evading arrest, and wound up serving
18 months’ probation.
Koo pointed out that many private
buses compete with city buses
on the streets of Flushing, and oft en
the charter buses block traffi c and
commit other infractions. He also
indicated that many of the drivers
work long hours which may
aff ect how they perform behind
the wheel.
“As with any city-sanctioned
transportation vehicle, private bus
companies must be held to high
standards of safety and accountability
when they put the lives of
others in their hands,” Koo said.
“While there is a place for these
businesses, yesterday’s devastation
demands a closer look at how this
industry can be better regulated.”
Rodriguez and Koo called on the
City Council to work with the city
Department of Transportation and
the NYPD on an eff ort “to crack
down on bad private bus companies
and take them out of operation.”
Th e Courier reached out to
Dahlia’s offi ce by phone and
received a repeated busy signal.
