Ontario bus driver in crash barred from N.Y. roads

Beginning of Story Content The driver of a Canadian tour bus involved in a deadly crash in New York on Friday wasn't allowed to operate a commercial vehicle in the state after getting two speeding tickets, police say. The tour bus carrying 53 people from Hamilton, Ont., to New York City was struck from behind by a tractor-trailer near Waterloo, N.Y, early in the morning. The fiery crash killed the truck driver and sent at least 30 people to hospital. The passengers ranged in age from 15 to 72. Reporter Tina Shaively with CBS News in Farmington, N.Y., spoke to some survivors of the crash, including Leslie Mclean. "I was sitting looking at my mom. I was on the window seat and I could see from the back that the bus had exploded and we just went right up in the air," Mclean said. "And then it was all hell broke loose." Jane Walker was another bus passenger. "Within a split second, it became so difficult to breathe. The air was almost black and people were screaming and yelling, and everybody was pushing to try to get out," Walker said. "It just seemed like it took forever to get out of the bus." Rene Bisson, the 60-year-old driver, from Welland, Ont., faces a misdemeanour charge of aggravated unlicensed <a href="http://www.cheerto.cn"><strong>车度|车度.ä¸*国</strong></a> operation of a motor vehicle, state police told a news conference. They said his commercial licence wasn't valid in the state, where he allegedly got two speeding tickets within three years. Insurance company London Life chartered the bus to take a group of employees, family and friends to New York City. Everyone on the bus survived the crash, but two bus passengers have critical injuries. The crash happened at about 1:30 a.m. ET in the eastbound lanes of Interstate 90, at the northern edge of the Finger Lakes region, midway between Syracuse and Rochester, N.Y. The bus driver had pulled off to the side of the highway for 20 to 30 minutes to work on some mechanical problems. When the bus pulled back onto the road, the truck hit it from behind, New York state police said from Farmington, N.Y. Truck driver Timothy Hume, 59, of Dryden, Mich., died at the scene. He was driving for Matrix Expedited Services, carrying auto parts from Flint, Mich. A tour bus chartered by London Life, an insurance company based in London, Ont., collided with a tractor-trailer near Waterloo, N.Y., early Friday. The truck driver was killed and at least 30 other people were injured. (Tina Yee/Democrat & Chornicle/Associated Press) The collision caused a massive fire, which gutted both vehicles. Passengers <a href="http://www.jolintsai.net/forum/viewtopic.php?p=1027860#1027860"><strong>Phillies' Lidge returning from prolonged DL stint</strong></a> with injuries, ranging from minor to serious, were being treated at seven hospitals in the area. Sixteen ambulances and about nine fire departments from Seneca, Wayne and Ontario counties responded to the call. Police said Jacob Perkins, a U.S. soldier from New York's Fort Drum, came upon the scene and pulled some people from the burning bus. London Life, based in London, Ont., said it was saddened by the crash. "The well-being of our staff, their families and friends is our primary focus," the company said in a news release. "We have sent a team to Rochester to help our staff and their fellow passengers with their immediate needs." The bus was part of Farr's Coach Lines Ltd., a family-owned carrier based in Dunnville, Ont. With files from The Associated Press End of Story Content Back to accessibility links