What Happened
Two people were killed and roughly two dozen others were injured late Monday night after a chartered coach bus carrying the crew of Royal Jordanian Flight 8261 overturned on the Long Island Expressway in Queens, creating a massive traffic backup that shut the highway in both directions for hours, according to 6abc.
The crash was reported at approximately 11:45 p.m. on the westbound LIE. The bus was an airport shuttle that had picked up the crew of Royal Jordanian Flight 8261 after the flight arrived from Amman, Jordan, at John F. Kennedy International Airport just before 9:45 p.m. The crew was en route to their hotel when the sequence of collisions began.
According to officials, as reported by 6abc, the westbound coach bus first struck two vehicles before hitting the center divider. The bus then overturned and crossed into the eastbound lanes, where it collided with two additional vehicles traveling in the opposite direction. The multi-vehicle chain of collisions left wreckage across both sides of the expressway and required a significant emergency response to clear.
The driver of the bus and one passenger were pronounced dead at the scene. The driver of one of the vehicles struck in the eastbound lanes was rushed to a hospital in critical condition. Three other drivers involved in the crash were reported to be in stable condition. Approximately two dozen passengers who had been aboard the bus were transported to area hospitals to be evaluated for injuries.
Sources told ABC New York affiliate WABC — as relayed by 6abc — that the deceased bus driver had seven prior arrests, including for burglary, sexual abuse, and forcible touching. He was a registered Level 2 sex offender. Despite this record, he held a valid commercial driver’s license at the time of the crash. He had accumulated seven moving violations on his personal driving record, among them two for speeding, two for disobeying a traffic control device, and one for dangerous driving. Critically, none of those violations were recorded while he was operating a vehicle in a professional capacity. WABC reached out to his employer for comment but had not received a response as of the time of publication.
Royal Jordanian Airlines issued a statement saying the airline does not yet have full details of the crash and is actively monitoring the situation while coordinating with authorities. The cause of the crash remains under investigation.
Location & Road Context
The crash took place on the Long Island Expressway in Queens — the New York City portion of the I-495 corridor that serves as one of the primary arteries connecting Long Island to Manhattan. The westbound lanes at this location carry heavy airport-related shuttle and commercial traffic, particularly during late-night arrival windows at JFK. The rollover, which sent the bus across the center divider into oncoming eastbound traffic, shut down the LIE in both directions for several hours while emergency crews worked to clear the wreckage and investigators processed the scene. All lanes of the expressway have since reopened.
Investigation & Legal Proceedings
The cause of the crash remains under active investigation by authorities. While no charges had been announced as of the time of reporting — the driver being among the deceased — the details of his background have drawn scrutiny. As 6abc reported, sources revealed the driver’s seven prior arrests, his Level 2 sex offender status, and his seven personal moving violations, raising questions about the vetting process used by his employer for hiring commercial drivers. WABC contacted the driver’s employer seeking comment, but no response had been received. Investigators have not yet disclosed a preliminary cause for why the westbound bus initially struck two vehicles before losing control into the center divider.
Broader Impact
The revelation that the bus driver was a registered Level 2 sex offender with seven prior arrests and seven personal moving violations — while holding a valid commercial license — is likely to intensify scrutiny of background check and hiring standards for operators of chartered airport shuttle services in New York. New York State law requires commercial driver’s license holders to disclose certain disqualifying offenses, but personal criminal history and sex offender registry status are not always systematically screened by private charter operators. The employer’s silence in response to press inquiries adds to those unanswered questions.