New York City bus driver who veered off bridge, refused test is suspended

Seven passengers suffered minor injuries after one part of the articulated bus fell 50 feet onto a highway ramp

Jan 16, 2021

The driver of a New York City bus that plunged off a bridge has been suspended after refusing to submit to a drug and alcohol test, a regional transit agency said Saturday.

The 55-year-old driver has been “withheld from service without pay” following the dramatic crash, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority said Saturday. His name has not been made public.

Seven passengers suffered minor injuries after one part of the articulated bus fell 50 feet onto a highway ramp. The other half remained on the bridge. No other vehicles were involved.

A bus in New York City which careened off a road in the Bronx neighborhood of New York is left dangling from an overpass Friday, Jan. 15, 2021, after a crash late Thursday that left the driver in serious condition, police said. (AP Photo/Craig Ruttle)

The incident happened in the Bronx borough of the city, where the bus plunged from an overpass onto the Cross Bronx Expressway, NY Daily News reports. Everton Beccan, the driver who is a father of two, was hospitalized and would not speak on the situation, according to the outlet.

“He’s shaken up as can be expected,” Dahalia Beccan, his wife, explained to a reporter. “I haven’t been able to talk to him … The photos of the crash were like a movie type of thing.”

The MTA said speed appeared to be a factor in the crash. The driver passed a breath test at the scene but then refused to submit at the hospital to a drug and alcohol test, said Patrick Warren, the MTA’s chief safety and security officer.

The driver, who was driving his regular route, has more than 11 years of service and a good safety record, the MTA said.