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Feds: Fatal Chinatown Bus Company Tried To Get Around Shutdown Order

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The crash scene on I-95 (Virginia State Police)
After one of its Chinatown-bound buses overturned on I-95 in Central Virginia, killing four passengers, Sky Express was shut down by the U.S. Department of Transportation. But apparently that couldn't keep Sky Express from trying to make some money: The Richmond Times-Dispatch reports, "The DOT's Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration issued a cease and desist order against Sky Express, saying that the company is now trying to operate under the names 108 Tours and 108 Bus." Yes, there are even websites.

According to the feds, Sky Express repainted or was in the middle of repainting buses as well as selling tickets. The Times-Dispatch adds, "The agency also announced that it has subpoenaed the records of three websites that have sold tickets for Sky Express and several other bus companies. Those websites include GotoBus.com, TakeTours.com and 2001bus.com, the agency said," (a list of more websites and groups is here).

The bus driver, Queens resident Kin Yiu Cheung, faces charges of four counts of involuntary manslaughter as well as reckless driving; it's believed he fell asleep at the wheel. Cheung allegedly told police that when he woke up, he made a hard left turn and the bus overturned. The Times-Dispatch looked at the police affidavit: "A passenger told authorities after the crash that she had overheard Cheung on a cellphone complaining about how tired he was and about the fact that he didn't have much time between trips." Chinatown bus drivers typically have grueling schedules and few places to rest.

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Comments [rss]

  • Bernie_Geotz_Squirrel_Luv

    Isn't being on the cell phone what the drivers do to stay awake?
     

  • silver

    Smoking meth is safer.

  • cr17

    Most of the various companies sell through GoToBus.com.

  • Kommon sense

    At least they didn't do pee pee in anyone's coke.

  • randomtransplant

    Its scary to think these guys were stupid enough to think a simple name change 3 days later would work. The stupidity seems more dangerous than the criminal intent, almost.

  • angry_pickle

    Shouldn't the bus company owners be charged with something?

  • unretrofiedforu

    Nah it would be too expensive.

    Let's go after the patsy that took $8/hr to drive that bus and didn't know any better. 

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