Trainspotter Posted January 6, 2008 Share #1 Posted January 6, 2008 2 killed, 2 hurt as car, bus crash in Queens BY JENNIFER BARRIOS NEWSDAY January 6, 2008 An investigation is conducted after a car collided with an MTA Long Island Bus on Hillside Avenue at 168th Place on Sunday, January 06, 2008. Both occupants of the car died at the scene, the bus driver and a passenger were also hurt. NEW YORK - A Queens Village man, driving the car he received just days ago as a Christmas present, was killed along with his passenger when the car collided with a bus early Sunday morning. Christopher Boyd, 23, and his passenger, 25-year-old Eric Richmond of Queens, were returning home from a Brooklyn birthday party in Boyd's 1992 Ford Thunderbird. Boyd was driving east on Hillside Avenue at about 4:15 a.m. when the vehicle lost control, police said. The Thunderbird swung sideways into the path of an N6 Long Island Bus driving west on Hillside Avenue at 168th Place, police said. A police spokesman said Boyd's vehicle might have been speeding at the time of the incident. Both Boyd and Richmond were pronounced dead at the scene. The 39-year-old bus driver and one of his passengers, a 24-year-old man, suffered minor injuries and were taken to Mary Immaculate Hospital in Jamaica. The driver has since been released, said Aaron Donovan, an MTA spokesman. Donovan could not say how long the driver has been working for the MTA. According to motor-vehicle records, Boyd had a valid license at the time of the crash. His license was suspended after he failed to pay a fine, but it was reinstated in 2005, according to the records. Reached at her Maine home, Boyd's stepmother, Wendi Boyd, described him as a "bright young man" who "loved life." "He loved sports, basketball," said Boyd. "He was an expert swimmer." She said her stepson, whom she had raised since he was 4 years old, moved from Maine to New York after he graduated high school so he could pursue training as an automotive mechanic. The car he and Richmond were riding in, Wendi Boyd said, was a Christmas gift for him from her and his father, Glenn Boyd. "He was so happy with the car," she said through tears. "We just picked it out because he's been wanting a car and we figured he's been doing so well and working and it was going to be something good for him to have." In Queens, Yvette Richmond remembered her son as a faithful young man who – like Boyd – aspired to become an automotive mechanic and was an avid collector of Matchbox toy cars. "He liked cars from the day he was born," the grieving mother said of Eric Richmond. "He always had a car in his hand." Richmond said her son also was a born-again Christian who spent every Sunday with his family at Good Tidings Gospel Chapel in Brooklyn. Lloyd Allwood, an elder at the church, said Eric Richmond was a former Marine who proudly attended the church in his uniform while on leave. The young man was popular with the church's young people, Allwood said, and was planning on attending a camp retreat in February with them. "He had a lot of friends come here this morning, and most of the young people were crying," Allwood said. Yvette Richmond said her the two men knew each other for years, and described the pair as "very good friends." The two had attended a birthday party for Eric Richmond's nephew in Brooklyn before they were killed, she said. Yvette Richmond said she wasn't told anything more about the collision. "They were on their way home," she said sadly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Queens Surface Posted January 6, 2008 Share #2 Posted January 6, 2008 That is right where I live in Jamacia, Queens. I saw the whole thing happen in my bedroom window. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TransitGuy Posted January 7, 2008 Share #3 Posted January 7, 2008 Wow thats crazy. My condolences go out to the driver and passenger as well as the recovery for the 2 others injured. Its funny I'm pretty close to that area also. I have always gone there too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
R1Toasty Posted January 7, 2008 Share #4 Posted January 7, 2008 Ugh, that sucks a lot for him. A tiny little car vs a bus is never a good situation, so as we can see, the car got dominated. Not that you want to be in a wreck, but you do not want to be in one of those. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pablo M 201 Posted January 7, 2008 Share #5 Posted January 7, 2008 Heard about that earlier. Man that was a really nasty accident. My condolences to the family of those lost. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tramrunner Posted January 7, 2008 Share #6 Posted January 7, 2008 are the gas containers on a top of a bus supposed to withstand such a stress? I geuss so yes, since the bus was hurt minimally About the article, I'd hardly belive that the car lost control. I'd rather say that the driver lost control. Sure he was drunk by the Birthday Party Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tramrunner Posted January 7, 2008 Share #7 Posted January 7, 2008 are the gas containers on a top of a bus supposed to withstand such a stress?I geuss so yes, since the bus was hurt minimally About the article, I'd hardly belive that the car lost control. I'd rather say that the driver lost control. Sure he was drunk by the Birthday Party I also feel very Sorry for LI BUS Orion 5. Not many buses have 4-segment doors. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
error46146 Posted January 7, 2008 Share #8 Posted January 7, 2008 this totally sucks. i feel sorry for the people that got killed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DOB2RTO Posted January 7, 2008 Share #9 Posted January 7, 2008 If he was speeding and lost control, oh well. It'll teach car drivers who always win in those accidents. From the looks of the picture, he went into the oncoming traffic lane. The bus seems to be in the proper lane. If he did, his family can kiss a lawsuit good-bye. If they do try, and it is found out he was speeding and lost control, the MTA should have a countersuit. It's unpopular, but it's only right. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BMT4Life Posted January 7, 2008 Share #10 Posted January 7, 2008 That reckless driver almost killed that poor guy (bus operator) and almost seriously injured his passengers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DOB2RTO Posted January 7, 2008 Share #11 Posted January 7, 2008 are the gas containers on a top of a bus supposed to withstand such a stress? The only way those containers can be damaged, is if the bus goes under a low clearance and the tanks get ripped off, it gets hit so hard that the entire body (top to bottom to tank section) gets damaged, or if it rolls over. I drove the Orion VII CNG's. Basically same bus, except one is low floor. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sebbieprops Posted January 7, 2008 Share #12 Posted January 7, 2008 Very sad to hear this. My sympathies are with the victims' families. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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