Queens driver charged with reckless driving in Virginia bus crash that left four passengers dead

NY Daily News

BY GREG B. SMITH AND CORKY SIEMASZKO

DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITERS

Tuesday, May 31, 2011

A Queens man was asleep at the wheel of a New York-bound bus that skidded off the highway in Virginia early Tuesday, killing four passengers and badly injuring scores more, police said.

Kin Yiu Cheung, 37, was charged with reckless driving in connection with the crash that left a motor coach flipped over on its roof and trapped passengers inside screaming for help.

The Flushing man was employed by the Sky Express Bus Company, a problem plagued business based in North Carolina.

"The driver was fatigued when he ran off the right side of the road," Sgt. Thomas Molnar of the Virginia State Police said.

Cheung was being held on $3,000 bond and cooperating with investigators, Molnar said.

The early morning accident paralyzed northbound traffic on Interstate 95 for hours as rescue crews raced to the scene and removed the victims.

The Sky Express Bus, which left Greensboro, N.C. at 10:30 p.m. Monday, was carrying 59 passengers when it strayed off a highway and hit an embankment around 5 a.m. The crash was about 30 miles north of Richmond, Va.

Cheung, who had a seat belt, suffered only a few bump and bruises.

Meanwhile, the injured passengers - some of them in critical condition - were taken to Richmond and Fredericksburg-area hospitals.

Sky Express has an abysmal safety record, with four previous crashes - including one that resulted in a fatality, according to Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration records.

Click here to continue reading this story