Driver in fatal NY charter bus crash had DUI conviction: report

The charter bus driver involved in a deadly crash in Queens, N.Y., was previously fired by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) after being convicted of driving under the influence, The New York Times reported.

Raymond D. Mong was operating a charter bus early Monday morning that plowed through an intersection and slammed into a New York City bus. Mong and two other people were killed and 16 others were injured.  

Mong was fired by the MTA two years ago after he slammed his car into two other vehicles on a highway in Connecticut and fled the accident scene while he was off duty, according to the Times.

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Mong was convicted of driving under the influence and evading arrest, the newspaper added, and was given a suspended jail sentence and was placed on probation.

Federal investigators were sent to Queens on Monday to investigate the fatal crash. Reports have suggested that speed and running a red light may have been factors in the incident.

“We’ve had a really tragic morning here in Flushing, Queens,” New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio (D) said. “It’s just shocking to see the scene over there. Hard to compare it to anything I’ve ever seen — the sheer destruction from the impact of the collision.”