Two people were killed and 20 injured after a coach bus crashed into several other cars and flipped over on the Long Island Expressway Monday night, leaving significant delays on the highway for morning rush hour, police said.
According to the NYPD, the chain-reaction crash happened around 11:45 p.m. as the bus was heading westbound near exit 16 for Greenpoint Avenue and Hunters Point Avenue in Maspeth, Queens.
The bus carried 15 crew members from Royal Jordanian Airlines, according to a statement from the airline, one of whom was among those killed. The crew members were traveling from JFK Airport to their hotel, the airline said.
Police said the bus first collided with another vehicle that crashed into a third car on the westbound side. The force from that collision sent the bus flipping over the median into oncoming eastbound traffic, where it crashed into two additional vehicles.
First responders pronounced the 35-year-old bus driver and another male passenger dead at the scene. The driver of one of the eastbound cars was hospitalized in critical condition, while the other drivers were hospitalized in stable condition, police said. The rest of the injured bus passengers were taken to local hospitals with minor injuries.
The NYPD’s Highway District Collision Investigation Squad was still looking into the cause of the crash early Tuesday, and police said the Expressway’s eastbound lanes remained closed near exit 16. The department was still working to notify the families of the deceased, and did not immediately provide their identities.
This story has been updated with additional information.
Charles Lane contributed reporting.
