NYC bus crash driver has manslaughter conviction

NEW YORK (Gannett)  The driver at the wheel of a gambler's tour bus that crashed and killed 15 people over the weekend has a criminal history that includes manslaughter and theft convictions.

The New York State Department of Correctional Services says Ophadell Williams was convicted of manslaughter for his role in a 1990 stabbing and served just over two years. He initially had been charged with second-degree murder in the case.

He also served about three years for grand larceny for removing an $83,905 check from a Police Athletic League fund in October 1997. Williams used aliases in both those cases.

He was also arrested for driving without a license and having three police scanners in 2003.

Williams has not been charged in the bus crash. Investigators are looking at his role.

Police were examining surveillance video from a Connecticut casino to retrace the driver's actions before the fatal ride.

New York State Police Investigator Joseph Becerra said the video was from inside and outside the Mohegan Sun casino in Uncasville, Conn.

"We're trying to recreate his whereabouts while he was there," Becerra said. He said police hoped to see video from the time the bus arrived Friday night to its departure early Saturday.

The investigation continued to focus on Williams, whose story that his tour bus was clipped by a tractor-trailer has been contradicted by passenger and witnesses who saw him driving erratically before Saturday's crash on Interstate 95. The bus, taking gamblers back to Manhattan's Chinatown after a few hours at the casino, was sheared in half by a sign pole after overturning on the highway, leaving a jumbled mess of bodies.

Becerra wouldn't say specifically what police were seeking from surveillance video. Alcohol and drug test results for Williams were pending.

Police said the latest victim died Monday morning at St. Barnabas' Hospital in the Bronx. His name, like that of the other victims, was not made public. Officials said most were of Chinese descent.

Becerra said an accident reconstruction team, and the National Transportation Safety Board, were trying to determine the cause of the accident and the speed of the bus at the time. The NTSB scheduled a news conference for later Monday.

Becerra said if the investigation "reveals that any laws were broken, appropriate charges will be filed." He said he could not predict when or if that might happen. District attorneys from both the Bronx and Westchester County were involved because the crash occurred on the city line, Becerra said.

He would not disclose anything Williams, 40, had told police during their interview of him.

Becerra said it appears Williams did not have a room at the casino.

The casino has a lounge for bus drivers with coffee, soda, snacks and televisions, Mohegan Sun President Jeff Hartmann said. He said he did not know whether Williams was in the lounge before the trip.

"We don't keep track of them. They're on their own," he told The Associated Press. He said the casino was cooperating with police.

The bus was one of scores that travel daily between Chinatown and the casinos in southeastern Connecticut. The Mohegan Sun caters to Chinese-American gamblers and has estimated that one-fifth of its business comes from Asian spending. Hartmann said 44,000 buses visit the casino annually from around the region.

Williams, who was released from the hospital on Sunday, was at home in Brooklyn on Monday but did not appear outside. His friend and neighbor, Francisco Rivera, said Williams was a safe driver.

"I think something else happened. ... I've been in a car with him several times and I've never seen him drive crazy ... or swerve," Williams said.

He said there was a death in Williams' family this year and a younger brother was lost "to the streets."

"And now this happens to him. Everybody's just messed up in the family right now," he said.

On Sunday, the NTSB said it had interviewed passengers but not the driver. Vice Chairman Christopher Hart said the board planned to talk to the bus company, World Wide Travel, about its fatigue-management program and to see if the driver checked into a room at the casino. A blood sample has been taken from him to check for drugs and alcohol.

The company, which didn't return messages on Monday, has said it was cooperating.

At City Hall on Monday, two Democratic politicians asked the NTSB to go beyond its investigation of Saturday's crash and examine the regulations governing low-cost tour buses in general.

Sen. Charles Schumer and Rep. Nydia Velasquez released a letter to the board that said, "There is ample evidence that the incident involving World Wide Tours is not an isolated incident but rather just one example of an industry that in many cases is operating outside the bounds of city, state and federal transportation safety guidelines."

Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration records listed World Wide Travel as having at least two other accidents in which people were injured in the past 24 months. The agency flagged the company for possible extra scrutiny due to violations involving driver fatigue regulations.

Contributing: The Associated Press