A New England-based bus company that’s had a relationship with Mohegan Sun for more than a decade said driver fatigue concerns make it shy away from the type of “overnight” trips that ended in tragedy Saturday.
Peter Pan Bus Lines makes regular daily trips to Mohegan Sun and also provides shuttle bus service to casino employees. It makes very few “overnight” runs like
Fourteen people were killed Saturday and another 18 injured in the Interstate 95 accident. A 70-year-old male passenger died Monday, becoming the 15th fatality.
Fatigue problems
“Fatigue at those hours is a very big concern,” said Chris Crean, Peter Pan’s vice president of safety and security. “Your body is telling you that you should be sleeping at those hours, and you’re not. This is a huge issue for carriers.”
Now, investigators are looking at surveillance video from Mohegan Sun, trying to establish the activities of the bus driver involved in the crash.
New York State Police Investigator Joseph Becerra said Monday the video was from inside and outside Mohegan Sun.
He said police want to “recreate the whereabouts” of driver Ophadell Williams from his bus’s arrival Friday night to its departure early Saturday.
Restrictions
As per federal rules, drivers are not allowed to operate more than 10 hours per day and must take at least eight hours off after working such a shift, Crean said. A driver should try to get sleep after a night run, but a casino is a difficult place to relax, he noted.
“The best thing is usually to get a hotel room,” Crean said Monday.
Mohegan Sun CEO Jeff Hartmann declined to comment Monday on whether the bus driver had gotten a hotel room or requested one, citing the ongoing investigation by New York State Police.
National Transportation Safety Board Vice Chairman Christopher Hart said the board planned to speak with World Wide Travel, which owns the bus that crashed, about its fatigue management program and to see if the driver got a hotel room.
World Wide has been affiliated with the Sun since 1999 with no previous trouble, Hartmann said. It has all the necessary certifications, he said.
“We’ve had a good relationship with them,” Hartmann said. He reiterated the “heartbreak” expressed by the casino and the Mohegan Tribe on Saturday.
“It’s such a tragedy,” he said.
Most of Peter Pan’s trips to Mohegan Sun start in Springfield, Mass., where the company is based, as well as New Hampshire, Crean said.
Peter Pan is one of the nation’s largest bus operators, having bought Connecticut-based ShowBus Tours in 2005. It has more than 1,000 employees with routes all over the Northeast.
About one-fifth of Mohegan Sun’s customers are Asian, the tribally owned casino estimates.
Investigation
Connecticut State Police helped direct traffic Saturday. The department stands ready to assist New York police, said Lt. J. Paul Vance, Connecticut commanding officer of public information.
“It’s not our case,” Vance said Monday. “But we’re ready, willing and able to help them in whatever way we’re asked.”
New York State Police and the NTSB are studying a black box-type recorder. The 40-year-old driver said a tractor-trailer truck clipped the bus just as he was crossing the New York City line. Williams was not seriously injured and was released from St. Barnabas Hospital in Bronx, N.Y., Sunday.
A blood sample, aimed at checking for drugs and alcohol, has been taken. Williams lives in Brooklyn, N.Y., where World Wide Travel is based.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.
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