Bus Driver In Fatal Queens Crash Had CT License Suspended After DUI Crash

FLUSHING, QUEENS — The driver of a tour bus that killed three and injured 16 in a Queens crash Monday was involved in a DUI hit-and-run in Connecticut during 2015. Raymond Mong, 48, pleaded guilty to charges and had his license suspended and later restored.

Mong was arrested on April 10, 2015 by Connecticut State Police. He pleaded guilty to DUI and evading responsibility and was sentenced to six months in jail, execution suspended with 18 months of probation, according to court records.

Mong was driving a personal vehicle at the time of the crash and he rear-ended a Chevy Tahoe on the I-95 exit 51 off-ramp in New Haven, according to the New York Daily News. The Tahoe crashed into a Volkswagen Jetta and Mong fled the scene. Three people were injured in the crash.

Mong was fired from his job as an MTA bus driver for cause in 2015.

Read more: Queens Bus Crash Leaves 3 Dead, 16 Injured; New Video Shows Moment Of Impact

Mong's Connecticut licence was restored in February 2016, according to the Daily News.

The Dahlia tour bus operated by Mong smashed into an MTA bus in the area of Main Street and Northern Boulevard Monday. Mong, a pedestrian and a passenger from the MTA bus were killed.

Security camera footage shared on Twitter shows the MTA bus slowly making a right turn, while the tour bus barrels down Northern Boulevard:

The MTA bus driver is in the hospital in non-critical condition, according to MTA Chairman Joe Lhota. A total of 15 people were on the MTA bus, Lhota said.

"It's a sad day when three fellow New Yorkers perish while they're getting to work," Lhota told reporters.

"We're very concerned about the speed, but most importantly the safety. And we want to make sure that we understand what happened and we prevent this from ever happening again."

The bus is owned by Dahlia Travel and Tour, the same company that owned the bus that overturned on its way to Mohegan Sun casino in February last year. That accident left 14 passengers hurt.

Dahlia has been given seven driving violations in the past two years, including five for speeding, one for improper passing and one of unlawful parking, federal records show.

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration also had a record of a fatal accident involving Dahlia in the past two years, though details were unavailable.

Image via FDNY Twitter