By Devlin Barrett
Federal investigators have found that the bus that crashed in the Bronx last month had been speeding shortly before the accident, according to a preliminary report issued Friday.
The National Transportation Safety Board has been investigating the pre-dawn wreck on March 12 that killed 15 passengers and injured
The brief two-page preliminary report notes that an electronic device on board the bus recorded some information, starting at about 90 seconds before the crash. “Approximately 45 seconds before the accident, the bus was traveling at its maximum governed speed of 78 mph. Its speed had decreased prior to the accident,’’ the report said.
The report offers no conclusions about whether speed contributed to the crash.
No charges have been filed over the accident, but state police are still investigating. The incident has renewed public debate about the safety of discount intercity buses, and prompted calls from some elected officials to more tightly regulate the industry as a whole.
The bus driver, Ophadell Williams, has told authorities that he was forced off the road by a truck, but investigators have found no evidence yet to substantiate such a claim. After the crash, state officials suspended his driver’s license, saying he had lied on the application.
The bus was operated by World Wide Travel, which received a satisfactory rating in a 2008 compliance review by federal regulators.
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