Bus Headed to CT Casino From Queens Rolls Over, 14 Transported to Area Hospitals

By Brian McCready and Feroze Dhanoa

A chartered casino bus headed to Mohegan Sun rolled over Monday on Connecticut’s slippery Interstate 95 in Madison, injuring multiple people and closing the busy highway on the northbound side, according to police.

The bus owned by Dahlia Inc. was headed to the casino from Flushing, Queens.

Of the 70 passengers on the bus, 30 were able to walk off on their own and the remaining were transported to Yale-New Haven and St. Raphael’s hospitals, Connecticut State Police spokeswoman Kelly Grant said.

Mark D’Antonio, a spokesman for Yale-New Haven hospital told Patch the hospital was initially told to expect 30-40 patients with six listed in critical condition. D’Antonio said the hospital initially only received eight patients with none in critical condition. There was one patient who suffered broken bones, D’Antonio said.

As of 4 p.m., six patients listed in critical condition were on their way to Yale-New Haven Hospital, D’Antonio said. The patients were earlier taken to Middlesex Hospital, where they were triaged. Another patient listed in critical condition was being taken to Hartford Hospital.

“The lesser wounded were probably transported to Yale Yale-New Haven Shoreline Medical Center,” D’Antonio said.

Live footage from the Connecticut Department of Transportation showed the bus rolled over on its side and lines of ambulances arriving to help. Numerous people were seen standing on the side of the road. Connecticut State Police spokeswoman Kelly Grant said at 12:25 p.m. the bus accident occurred on I-95 northbound between Exit 60 and 61. The highway remains closed at Exit 61.

As of right now there are no life-threatening injuries, Grant said. Passengers who were able to walk off the bus were taken to the Madison Town Campus and are being assisted by the American Red Cross.

No other vehicles were involved in the accident and numerous ambulances were on scene to transport the injured, Grant said. State Police are actively investigating the cause of the accident, Grant said.

Cody Chapman, a Mohegan Sun spokesman told Patch the bus was headed to the casino. Additional buses going to the casino from the New York area are being rerouted or sent back. Chapman said buses will be continued to be rerouted or sent back till conditions improve.

The bus is operated by VMC East Coast.

“VMC East Coast is very saddened that this has happened today. Our main concern right now is the safety and comfort of our passengers. We thank the First Responders who are helping everyone who was on the bus today. We pray that all our passengers are okay and will be safely returned to their families soon. We may release more information in the coming days,” company spokesman Glenn Ledet said in an email sent to Patch.

A bus operator profile compiled by the New York State Department of Transportation shows that Dahlia Inc. had one bus reported out of service in the 2014-15 fiscal year. A total of 32 buses were inspected. A representative for the New York DOT said all buses under the organization’s jurisdiction are inspected every fiscal year.

“We continue to monitor the situation closely and receive updates in real-time. Public safety is our top priority and our office continues to work with state agencies and emergency management officials to that end. Our thoughts are with those who are injured, and we extend our gratitude to the first responders who are working to protect the safety of all those involved,” Gov. Dannel P. Malloy said in a statement. “We urge all those who must travel to use added caution, allow extra time to travel, and reduce speeds as conditions warrant.”

Return to Patch for updates on this breaking news story.

Image screesshot via CT DOT