Queens bus crash victim killed while walking to train before work

Tuesday, September 19, 2017
Queens bus crash victim killed while walking to 7 train before work
NJ Burkett has more on one of the victims of Monday's deadly bus crash in Flushing.

FLUSHING, Queens (WABC) -- A fired MTA bus driver with a history of driving under the influence was at the helm of a charter bus as it ran a red light and crashed full throttle into an MTA bus as it was making a turn. The driver and two others were killed.

For safety board investigators, some of the most important clues will be found in the mangled wreckage of the charter bus - the data recorder, and the speedometer with the needle pinned at 60 miles per hour.

In surveillance video, investigators say the MTA bus was making a right turn on Northern Boulevard as the charter bus hurtled through a red light, making the 12-ton city bus spin like a toy.

A 55-year-old man aboard the MTA bus was killed, but everyone else on board was injured, several of them critically. The driver of the bus, 49-year-old Raymond Wong was dead at the scene.

WATCH: Surveillance video captures deadly Queens bus crash.

A third victim was 68-year-old Henryk Wdowiak, who was walking to the 7 train on his way to work.

"He was a good man, a hard-working man. I am devastated," his wife, Halina Kurpiewska told Eyewitness News, speaking in Polish.

The charter bus was operated by Dahlia Tours, a company with multiple recent safety violations, including 10 for speeding.

The driver in the crash worked for the MTA, but was fired in 2015 after he was arrested in Connecticut for DWI.

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