In The News

Fatal Bus Accident Under Federal Investigation

March 14, 2011 | Mark Siesel

On Saturday, March 12, 2011, 14 passengers on a tour bus returning to Chinatown from the Mohegan Sun Casino were killed when the driver lost control of the bus, it rolled onto its side, and struck a sign stanchion on southbound 1-95 near the Bronx border. The fatal accident is now being investigated by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) , who are interviewing the owners of World Wide Travel of Greater New York, and examining the crash site for physical clues to explain the horrific accident.

What is known is that on March 12th, thirty one passengers on the bus were returning from a day trip to the Mohegan Sun Casino. The driver of the bus, Ophadel E. Williams, (who suffered non life threatening injuries in the accident including a fractured hip), has informed investigators that he was attempting to avoid a tractor trailer which swerved into his lane and then lost control of the bus. Apparently, the bus tipped onto its right side, slid down the shoulder of the highway (the bus is alleged to have slid 480 feet from first contact with the guardrail until stopping), and then hit a sign stanchion which tore through the middle of the bus, leading to the massive injuries and fatalities. It has also been reported that World Wide Travel has been cited in the past for driver fatigue. Police investigators are working to retrace the driver’s actions for 72 hours before the crash. It has been reported that witnesses observed the bus moving at an excessive rate of speed.

In cases such as this, there are several pieces of evidence which will be instrumental in determining the true cause of the accident. These include:

Debris from the accident scene;
Tire marks, skid marks and other roadway evidence;
Damage to the vehicles involved;
GPS tracking information, which could indicate the route and speed of the tractor-trailer;
Statements from the drivers and occupants of the bus;
A review of the engine control module in the bus, which might assist the police in determining the speed of the bus at the time of the accident;
Driver’s logs which both the bus driver and truck driver and required to maintain by federal regulation;

Maintenance records for both vehicles.

There will undoubtedly be several lawsuits for wrongful death, and for the non-fatally injured passengers, for pain and suffering, medical and hospital expenses, lost earnings, loss of enjoyment of life, and long term care. I would assume that World Wide Travel would carry significant liability insurance coverage, but whether that coverage will be sufficient to compensate all of the victims of this tragic accident is a big question. If the evidence substantiates that the tractor-trailer’s actions contributed to the accident, there will be additional insurance from the owners of the trucking company, but there may still be insufficient insurance to compensate all victims.

We will continue to report on this case in future installments as the investigation continues.

Schuler Driving 85 M.P.H In Fatal Taconic Parkway Crash

July 20, 2010 | Mark Siesel

According to the final New York State Police report, issued last month, Diane Schuler was speeding at a whopping 85 miles per hour in last July’s fatal car crash on the Taconic Parkway in which 8 people died. The fiery crash occurred on July 26, 2009, when Ms. Schuler, traveling with her three nieces and two children, was driving southbound in the northbound lanes of the Taconic Parkway with a blood alcohol content of .19 (more than twice the legal limit) and high on marijuana. Everyone was killed in the Schuler vehicle with the exception of her then 5 year old son Bryan, and all three occupants of the vehicle driven by Guy Bastardi, which was traveling northbound in the left lane, were also killed.

Daniel Schuler, the husband of Diane Schuler, claimed last year that his wife must have had an illness or medical problem which caused her to drive so recklessly on the wrong side of the parkway. There was talk of exhuming Ms. Schuler’s body to conduct a separate autopsy to potentially rebut the findings of the Westchester County Medical Examiner’s Office, but to date there has been no evidence to refute the Westchester Coroner’s findings that Schuler was high and intoxicated at the time of the accident.

Understandably, the Bastardi family has commenced litigation against the Estate of Diane Schuler for the deaths of 81 year old Michael Bastardi, Sr. and his 49 year old son, Guy Bastardi, who was behind the wheel when the tragic accident occurred. The lawsuit is pending.

When you combine the speed of the Schuler vehicle at 85 m.p.h with the alleged speed of the Bastardi vehicle at 74 miles per hour, the vehicles were approaching each other at 233 feet per second–(Total of 159 miles per hour X 1.466 feet per second= 233 feet per second). Thus, there is no question that Guy Bastardi had no time to react or take evasive action from the Schuler vehicle. The only real question in this lawsuit is how much automobile insurance or umbrella insurance coverage the Schuler family had in effect on the date of the accident to compensate the Bastardi family. To date, we are not aware whether the family of the late Daniel Longo, also in the Bastardi vehicle, intends to commence legal action against Schuler’s estate.

Toyota Reeling In The Wake Of Recalls And Congressional Investigation

February 26, 2010 | Mark Siesel

Toyota is in the midst of an absolute legal and public relations disaster as the result of its delay in responding to deadly defects in its cars and trucks which have apparently led to at least 34 deaths in the last decade. The problem is sudden acceleration, which has been blamed on floor mat interference and sticky gas pedals, but which many safety experts are attributing to the electronic systems in these vehicles. Toyota has recalled approximately 8.5 million cars, and supposedly repaired about 800,000 to date, but the company has run into two huge public relations and credibility nightmares. First, despite initially claiming that it first learned of the sudden acceleration problem last October, it is now known that a year earlier, in October of 2008, there was an issue with sticky pedals in Europe, particularly in Britain and Ireland. Toyota’s CEO for North America, Yoshimi Inaba, claimed that the company “Did not hide [the problem]…but it was not properly shared…with the United States to see if there was any danger to American consumers.” Sure seems like hiding the problem to this writer.

Second, the Congressional oversight committee found that Toyota had given a presentation that stated “Toyota safety wins”, noting that they had been able to save $100 million by convincing the government initially to allow them to recall floor mats on 55,000 Toyota Camry and Lexus ES 350 sedans rather than recalling the vehicles themselves. This past Tuesday, in testimony to the House Energy and Commerce Committee, James E. Lentz, the president of Toyota Motor Sales U.S.A., informed the committee that the ongoing repairs might “not totally” solve the sudden acceleration problem–certainly not exactly comforting words for Toyota owners nationwide.

To attempt to quell the growing swirl of controversy and anger at the delayed and insufficient response to their defective vehicles, Toyota has announced that they will commence at home pickups of vehicles, reimbursement of consumer’s transportation expenses and free rental cars while cars are being repaired. New York State’s Attorney General has started a website- www.NYToyota-Help.com to provide information about this program. Toyota has also announced that new models will allow brakes to override gas pedals in an added effort to solve the sudden acceleration issue.