Second Fatal East Coast Tour Bus Crash in Three Days

A second deadly tour bus accident in three days happened on the New Jersey Turnpike last night, killing the driver and at least one of his 45 passengers, ABC News reports.

Some 40 other passengers have been hospitalized and five of them are in critical condition after a discount tour bus heading from Chinatown in New York to Philadelphia struck a guardrail on the left side of the highway, police said.

The bus then hit a concrete abutment and went across the road, sliding off the right side.

"The bus started rocking. It felt like we were going to tumble over," Ashley Wilson, 21, of Queens, N.Y., tells The Star-Ledger of Newark, N.J. "I hit my head and fell to the floor. Everything was falling down. People were crying and screaming."

Police said the bus driver, described as a 50-year-old man from Taiwan who lived in New York City's Queens, was ejected through the bus windshield and died at the scene. Another victim died at a local hospital.

On Saturday morning, a discount tour bus crashed on a New York highway, killing 15 people. The accident is still under investigation, but it appears it was a single-vehicle accident involving only the bus, which was returning to New York from a Connecticut casino.

The driver of the casino bus, Ophadell Williams, had a history of driving without a license as well as other vehicular offenses. In addition, Williams served nearly seven years behind bars for manslaughter and grand larceny.

Following Friday's accident, Senator Charles E. Schumer and Congresswoman Nydia Velazquez called on the National Transportation Safety Board to broadly investigate safety regulations that govern the discount tour bus industry.

"Saturday morning's crash was a heartbreaking tragedy and requires us to look closely at the safety regulations in place for the discount tour bus industry," says Schumer in a statement.

The tour bus in last night's accident is reportedly operated by Super Luxury Tours out of Wilkes Barre, Pa.