Tour bus driver charged in fatal Del. 1 crash
The 56-year-old driver of a New York-based tour bus has been charged in Sunday's crash that killed two women and injured dozens of others.
Jini Zhao, of Flushing, New York, faces two counts of operation of a vehicle causing death of another person in connection with the wreck that occurred as the bus exited southbound Del. 1 onto U.S. 13 at Tybouts Corner, state police announced Tuesday night.
Police allege Zhao lost control of the bus as he attempted to negotiate a curve on the ramp at an unsafe speed. The bus left the roadway, overturned onto its roof, and then slid down an grassy embankment before coming to rest on its left side at 4:20 p.m., a preliminary investigation suggests.
Passenger Hua'y Chen, 54, of New York, died at the scene Sunday and 30-year-old Idil Bahsi from Istanbul, Turkey, died hours later at Christiana Hospital. Forty-seven passengers and Zhao were taken to several Delaware medical facilities for treatment.
As of Tuesday, 19 patients remained at Christiana Hospital in various conditions, including one in critical and five serious. Officials from St. Francis Hospital could not be reached Tuesday to see how many of the bus crash victims remained there. The Wilmington hospital had 10 on Monday.
Zhao was released from St. Francis Hospital at 4 p.m. Tuesday into the custody of Delaware State Police. He was taken to Troop 2 in Glasgow then charged and arraigned. Zhao is being held at Young Correctional Institution in Wilmington in lieu of $5,000 secured bail, said Sgt. Paul G Shavack.
The charges came the same day that National Transportation Safety Board investigators were on the scene of the crash.
The NTSB investigation closed the southbound Del. 1 exit to northbound U.S. 13 more than two hours while they re-created the accident.
Investigators on the scene declined to comment.
DelDOT crews erected survey equipment just after noon for use in the NTSB investigation.
The federal agency expects to have a preliminary report in 10 business days after the day of the accident. The entire investigation may take up to a year.
The tour bus was heading from Washington, D.C., to New York, where the tour began Friday. The 1996 Setra Touring Coach Bus was owned by New York-based AM USA Express Inc., which had been cited in July for working a driver too many hours, and collected 18 safety violations since August 2012, federal records show.
Through a Freedom of Information Act request to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, The News Journal learned on Tuesday that AM USA Express' president is You Qiang Lin. The most recent document, which is a periodic request for Department of Transportation number, was signed by Ken Ng, the company's manager.
Calls made to a cellphone number listed on the documents went directly to voice mail.
There was no indication that drugs or alcohol contributed to the crash, state police said, although detectives continue to investigate the accident.
Additional charges are likely as the investigation continues, Shavack said.\
Staff writer Aaron Nathans contributed to this story.
Contact Esteban Parra at (302) 324-2299, eparra@delawareonline.com or Twitter @eparra3.
