Long Island, Southern State Overpass Crash: Police ID Bus Driver

Officials were trying to determine Monday how a driver managed to slam a 12-foot-high bus into a 7-foot-high overpass, injuring more than 40 students and chaperones aboard as they returned from a trip to Europe.

The crash Sunday night on the Southern State Parkway injured two people seriously. Five people suffered moderate injuries and the remainder were treated at local hospitals for cuts and bruises and released, according to New York State Police. Forty-four people were on the bus when it crashed.

The accident occurred on the eastbound side of the parkway at Exit 18 – Eagle Avenue in Lakeview — at about 9:30 p.m., according to police. The parkway was shut down in both directions near the scene after the crash, but has since reopened.

Photos from the scene show the roof of the bus sheared off. The 58-passenger vehicle is owned by New Jersey-based Journey Bus Lines.

Buses are not permitted on the Long Island parkway.

Carrying students from multiple high schools, the bus was bound for the Walt Whitman Shops mall in Huntington Station. The students boarded the bus at JFK Airport after returning from a spring break trip to eastern Europe, police said.

With a clearance of only 7 feet 7 inches, the bridge that was struck has one of the lowest clearances of any bridge on any Long Island parkway, the Baldwin Herald reported in a 2015 story about New York State Department of Transportation plans to install infrared over-height detection systems to help prevent vehicles from hitting the overpass.

The report says the DOT planned to finish installing the systems by the summer of 2017, but it's unclear if they were in place at the time of Sunday's crash.

Town of Hempstead Supervisor Laura Gillen tweeted: "As information continues to trickle in about a bus load of young high school students crashing on the southern state parkway, we pray for all those hospitalized and their families. A lot of questions need to be answered."

The driver of the bus has been identified as Troy D. Gaston, of Bethlehem, Penn. Police are asking anyone who witnessed the crash to call 631-756-3300.

Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) called the accident a “horrible, horrible crash,” according to Newsday, and said he called for preventative measures after a 2012 low-bridge collision at the same spot.

“This is not a new problem,” Schumer said at an unrelated news conference.

The top of the white bus was crushed along the vehicle’s entire length, down to the tops of the seats’ headrests. Parts of it were sheered off and lay in the road.

State Police Maj. David Candelaria said at a briefing that the driver “obviously wasn’t aware of the parkway system” and its restrictions on commercial vehicles.

“It’s a high-impact strike,” Candelaria said. “He made it all the way through.” Candelaria said the accident “could have been tragic. We were very lucky.”

The video below posted on YouTube shows teens standing outside the bus after the crash (it does contain profanity):

Google maps image of the overpass that was struck.

This is a breaking news story and will be updated as more information becomes available.

Traffic camera screenshot via the NYSDOT