Investigators Find Violations, Manslaughter in NYC Bus Driver's Past

[WestVirginiaRebel]

Fox News:

ALBANY, N.Y. -- Investigators worked Tuesday to piece together the trail of a man with numerous traffic violations and a decades-old manslaughter conviction who crashed a tour bus over the weekend in New York City, killing 15 people.

The bus driver, Ophadell Williams, was ticketed in 1995 for speeding and twice for driving without a license, giving police the alias Erik Williams, two state officials familiar with the accident probe told The Associated Press on Monday. Williams' driving privileges were suspended, meaning he couldn't legally drive in the state, after he failed to address the charges.

The bus crash occurred Saturday as gamblers were returning to New York City's Chinatown neighborhood, in downtown Manhattan, after a few hours at the Mohegan Sun casino in Uncasville, Conn. The bus was sheared in half by a sign pole.

On Monday night, another company's luxury tour bus from Chinatown to Philadelphia crashed on the New Jersey Turnpike, killing the driver and a passenger. About 40 people were hospitalized.

National Transportation Safety Board investigators said they were looking at Williams' last 72 hours before the Saturday crash, checking the casino's surveillance video.

"We want to know what he ate, what he drank and how much he slept," NTSB vice chairman Christopher Hart said.

Investigators zeroed in on the 40-year-old Williams' record after his story that his tour bus was clipped by a tractor-trailer fell apart when passengers and witnesses said it never happened.
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With a record like his, I'm surprised Williams wasn't a local politician...