By Madina Toure
A bus owned by a Flushing company traveling from the neighborhood to a casino in Connecticut overturned on I-95 early Monday afternoon due to snow on the road, according to the Connecticut State Police.
At about 12:24 p.m., the operator of the bus, Flushing resident Keyi Zang, was merging from the left lane to the right lane on I-95 northbound, just east of Exit 61 in Madison, Conn., the State Police said.
He then lost control on the snow-covered road, striking the right-shoulder metal-beam barrier, police said.
A Connecticut State Police trooper said the operator said the bus was coming from Flushing.
Several EMS services, the Connecticut State Police CARS Unit, the Connecticut Department of Transportation and the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, responded to the scene.
The bus, owned by Dahlia Group Inc. at 127-27 34th Ave., was transporting passengers from Flushing to the Mohegan Sun Casino. The company declined to comment.
As of Tuesday, 29 vehicles and 43 drivers have been inspected over the last 24 months but there have been no crashes, according to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration.
As of October 2015, the company has a satisfactory rating, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration added.
During the 2014-2015 fiscal year, 32 of the company’s buses had been inspected, with one reported out of service, according to the state Department of Transportation’s bus operator profile. A total of 36 passengers were transported from the scene to area hospitals and medical clinics for treatment of minor to moderate injuries, police added.
The highway was closed periodically during the investigation and the bus was towed from the scene, which was cleared after four hours, the Connecticut State Police said. The National Transportation Safety Board was also notified.
The state police trooper said the investigation was ongoing.
Reach reporter Madina Toure by e-mail at mtour
