24 THE QUEENS COURIER • FEBRUARY 28, 2019 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM
Dropped Thermos triggered deadly Flushing bus crash: NTSB
BY MARK HALLUM
mhallum@schnepsmedia.com
@QNS
A fallen Th ermos that became stuck
under the brake pedal was the likely culprit
in a deadly bus crash in Flushing that
claimed three lives back in September
2017, according to federal investigators.
Th e National Transportation Safety
Board (NTSB) announced on Feb. 21
the results of a 17-month probe into the
gruesome Sept. 18, 2017 crash involving
a speeding motorcoach bus and an MTA
New York City Transit bus at the corner
of Northern Boulevard and Main Street.
Th ree people — including Raymond
Mong, the motorcoach’s driver — died
in the wreck. Th e motorcoach had blown
a red light and smashed into the rear of a
turning Q20 bus with enough impact to
spin the city bus around.
Th e bus wound up smashing through
the front of a nearby eatery, killing a
pedestrian caught in the path.
Th e NTSB report determined that the
destruction may not have been a refl ection
the operator’s spotty driving record
or the company’s history of violations and
included a photo with the thermos stuck
under the pedals of bus.
“Investigators found no evidence that
the motorcoach driver’s experience, training,
route familiarity or pre-crash activities
were factors in the collision. Th e GPS
recording indicates the motorcoach driver
was conscious and aware of the hazardous
conditions preceding the crash but
was unable to control the vehicle’s speed,”
the report said. “At the scene of the crash,
investigators found a metal Th ermos bottle
Three people died on Sept. 18, 2017 after a motorcoach collided with an MTA bus at the corner of Northern Boulevard and Main Street in Flushing.
near the control pedals. Th e Th ermos
could potentially explain the metal rattling
heard on the audio recording.”
Although the evidence may seem pretty
convincing, the agency is cautious to
draw any conclusions aft er listening to
the recording in which the driver, Mong,
was said to utter “a single-word remark as
the motorcoach increases its speed.”
Dahlia, which is still in operation,
became the object of public scrutiny as it
was revealed that the company had about
18 violations, including seven for unsafe
driving.
A look into Mong’s driving history also
painted a grim description of Dalhia’s
operations in which it was found that in
2015, he had been fi red from the MTA
as a bus driver following a Connecticut
accident for which he was found guilty
File photo/THE COURIER
of DWI.
Th e state Department of Motor Vehicles
said at the time that it was not aware
Mong was still driving a bus and Dahlia
had not reported to the agency they had
hired him, as required by law.
Mong was a resident of College Point,
and the report said his wife remembered
him leaving the for work that day with
the Th ermos.
Addabbo pushes for sports betting to close budget gap
BY MARK HALLUM
mhallum@schnepsmedia.com
@QNS
Although the U.S. Supreme Court overturned
a nationwide ban on sports betting
in May 2018, New York state has yet to pass
its own legislation regulating this activity.
One Queens elected offi cial says could
not only drain the coff ers of organized
crime operations but could close a $2.3
billion gap in the budget.
State Senator Joseph Addabbo was optimistic
about the potential of the state
gaining in tax revenue to fund education,
but now he sees the uses of those funds
going toward the shortfall in the 2020
executive budget, in addition to the $3
billion defi cit expected by Gov. Andrew
Cuomo starting next year.
“Now more than ever it makes sense to
legalize sports betting to help fund essential
programs by bringing in additional
revenue. It off ers great potential for
increasing revenue without placing the
burden on taxpayers. It creates new jobs,
and adds crucial funding support for education
in New York. We should act now
to create new wagering opportunities,
including mobile and online betting, to
help close the gap,” Addabbo said. “Th ere
are many economic advantages for the
state in legalizing sports wagering including
tax revenue from betting, sales tax
revenue, job creation, additional income
and increased payroll. I am confi dent that
by working together, we can develop and
enact a comprehensive plan to legalize
sports betting in New York.”
Addabbo cited New Jersey’s 8.5 percent
tax on sports betting which saw a yield of
$2.45 million in November alone. In May,
Addabbo said there was preliminary legislation
on the senate fl oor in Albany that
would see that legalized sports betting
was properly implemented.
“It is big money, we know it is. People
enjoy it as entertainment, but there is
an illegal element to it,” Addabbo said
in May. “We had a hearing earlier this
year through the gaming committee and
Photo via Flickr/Creative Commons
a gentleman from Nevada gave testimony
and said, ‘We’ve practically eliminated
illegal gaming and betting.’”
But tax on wagers alone is not the
only upside Addabbo sees potential for;
sales tax revenue, job creation, additional
income and increased payroll across
could bring additional funds for the state.
Th e deadline for the legislature to vote
on the 2020 budget is April 1.
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