“The cause was a mechanical failure” – Telemundo New York (47)

NEW YORK – The driver of a New York City bus that veered off the road and fell off a bridge said Saturday that a mechanical failure was the reason for the accident and that the vehicle “sped up” when it slowed down by a curve.

Everton Beccan, 55, refuted the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) claim that he had refused to submit to a drug and alcohol test at the hospital.

“There is no reason for me to refuse a drug test,” Beccan, who broke his jaw in the accident Thursday night, said at a news conference after being released from the hospital. “I am grateful that no one lost their life.”

The MTA released an internal document on Saturday saying Beccan refused three times to send a urine sample to the transit agency. The test that Beccan eventually took was performed by the hospital and was not performed until several hours after the accident, the agency said.

Traffic officials said Friday they were concerned that Beccan would not take the test, even after passing a breath alcohol test. The MTA said the driver was “detained from service without pay” amid the investigation.

“This is obviously concerning,” said Patrick Warren, the MTA’s director of safety and security.

Beccan said his drug test results are pending.

The driver gave an account of the accident that occurred near a highway junction Cross Bronx and Major Deegan.

The accident occurred in a turn he has made “hundreds of times” along his usual route, he said, adding that he lost control of the bus after stepping on the accelerator. “The bus just sped up,” he said. “The bus just took off by itself.”

As the accident unfolded, Beccan said he was thinking about the safety of the passengers and his own. He said he “helped who could help” and called 9-1-1.

“Everybody was screaming,” Beccan said. “Everybody was in a panic.”

Seven passengers suffered minor injuries after part of the bus crashed onto the access road. The other half stayed on the bridge. There were no other vehicles involved.

The MTA said Saturday that Beccan was driving “almost five times the speed allowed for a bus trying to turn.” The agency said investigators “so far have not identified any mechanical causes.”

Beccan has more than 11 years of service and a good safety record, the MTA said.

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