Speed cited in KJ bus crash that injured 54 teens
By Paul Ertelt
Ottaway News Service
peottaway@aol.com
Albany – Excessive speed was the primary cause of a charter bus crash in Sullivan County that injured 54 teenage girls returning from a religious retreat, a state safety panel concluded yesterday.
The state Public Transportation Safety Board also ruled that wet pavement and inadequate road signs contributed to the May 23 crash, while the poor condition of the bus' brakes exacerbated the crash.
The bus, owned by the Netzach Bus Transportation of Kiryas Joel, was part of a convoy of five buses coming from a weekend retreat at Ferndale's Camp Gila.
Just after 6 a.m., the driver, Joel Fisher, lost control of the bus at the bottom of a steep hill on Ferndale-Loomis Road. The bus crashed through a guardrail and overturned into the Middle Mongaup River.
A report by the safety board, which is expected to be released next week, concludes that the driver was going too fast when he headed down the steep, narrow road.
Board staff also concluded that the brakes were not in proper working order but they did not cause the crash.
"Basically, the bus got away from him. Once the bus got away, even if the brakes were perfect, this accident was going to happen,'' said Harry Gerham, the state's chief investigator on the case.
However, if the brakes had been working properly, it would probably have lessened the impact of the crash, he told the board.
Abe Falkowitz, manager of Netzach, said the damage to the bus made it impossible to tell whether the brakes were faulty before the crash.
But Joe Lee-Civalier, director of the state Department of Transportation's motor carrier safety bureau, said the tow-truck operator who responded to the crash noticed the tell-tale smell of brakes that had been overheating.
Although the front brakes were too seriously damaged to provide any information, the rear brake drums had spider cracks from overheating over time, he said. Also, oil from a leaking seal had built up on the brake drums, reducing their stopping power, he said.
The very same 17-year-old Netzach bus involved in the crash had been stopped in Monroe less than a year earlier and taken off the road after it was found to have several problems, including faulty brakes, the Times Herald-Record has found.
In June 2003, a state Department of Transportation inspector found the only license plate on the bus belonged to another vehicle. It also turned out that the insurance was invalid and the registration had expired, according to the inspector's report.
Then, after the bus was towed to a mechanic, another DOT inspector discovered a leaky brake valve, a leaky exhaust pipe and a discharged, unsecured fire extinguisher – all violations for which the company was cited.
Netzach challenged the violations. An administrative law judge dismissed the defective-brake charge – without an explanation – and found Netzach guilty of the two lesser offenses, ordering a $500 fine.
By Paul Ertelt
Ottaway News Service
peottaway@aol.com
Albany – Excessive speed was the primary cause of a charter bus crash in Sullivan County that injured 54 teenage girls returning from a religious retreat, a state safety panel concluded yesterday.
The state Public Transportation Safety Board also ruled that wet pavement and inadequate road signs contributed to the May 23 crash, while the poor condition of the bus' brakes exacerbated the crash.
The bus, owned by the Netzach Bus Transportation of Kiryas Joel, was part of a convoy of five buses coming from a weekend retreat at Ferndale's Camp Gila.
Just after 6 a.m., the driver, Joel Fisher, lost control of the bus at the bottom of a steep hill on Ferndale-Loomis Road. The bus crashed through a guardrail and overturned into the Middle Mongaup River.
A report by the safety board, which is expected to be released next week, concludes that the driver was going too fast when he headed down the steep, narrow road.
Board staff also concluded that the brakes were not in proper working order but they did not cause the crash.
"Basically, the bus got away from him. Once the bus got away, even if the brakes were perfect, this accident was going to happen,'' said Harry Gerham, the state's chief investigator on the case.
However, if the brakes had been working properly, it would probably have lessened the impact of the crash, he told the board.
Abe Falkowitz, manager of Netzach, said the damage to the bus made it impossible to tell whether the brakes were faulty before the crash.
But Joe Lee-Civalier, director of the state Department of Transportation's motor carrier safety bureau, said the tow-truck operator who responded to the crash noticed the tell-tale smell of brakes that had been overheating.
Although the front brakes were too seriously damaged to provide any information, the rear brake drums had spider cracks from overheating over time, he said. Also, oil from a leaking seal had built up on the brake drums, reducing their stopping power, he said.
The very same 17-year-old Netzach bus involved in the crash had been stopped in Monroe less than a year earlier and taken off the road after it was found to have several problems, including faulty brakes, the Times Herald-Record has found.
In June 2003, a state Department of Transportation inspector found the only license plate on the bus belonged to another vehicle. It also turned out that the insurance was invalid and the registration had expired, according to the inspector's report.
Then, after the bus was towed to a mechanic, another DOT inspector discovered a leaky brake valve, a leaky exhaust pipe and a discharged, unsecured fire extinguisher – all violations for which the company was cited.
Netzach challenged the violations. An administrative law judge dismissed the defective-brake charge – without an explanation – and found Netzach guilty of the two lesser offenses, ordering a $500 fine.
http://www.recordonline.com/archive/2004/11/24/bus24.htm