A late-night crash on the Long Island Expressway has left two people dead and roughly 20 injured after a charter coach bus overturned across the median in Queens, New York.
While investigators are working to understand what caused the collision, the people who were hurt and the families mourning those who died are facing urgent questions about medical care, responsibility, and what comes next.
Coach Bus Involved In Deadly Long Island Expressway Crash
Around 11:45 p.m. Monday, a westbound charter bus near the Greenpoint Avenue exit in Maspeth struck two vehicles, hit the center divider, and overturned into the eastbound lanes. (ABC7 New York). According to a police statement, the initial coach bus collision “caused the bus to flip over the median on to oncoming eastbound traffic, where the bus then collided” with a fourth and fifth vehicle.
The chartered bus was an airport shuttle carrying the flight crew of Royal Jordanian Flight 8261, which had landed at JFK earlier that evening and was headed to a hotel. Two people aboard — the driver and a passenger — were killed. About 20 other people were hurt, three of them critically, and were taken to Bellevue, NewYork-Presbyterian Queens, and Elmhurst hospitals.
More than 70 fire and EMS personnel responded, and the FDNY described the scene as "a motor vehicle incident with a confirmed entrapment." The Expressway was shut in both directions for hours while crews cleared the scene.
In a statement, Royal Jordanian Airlines said a "transport bus carrying Royal Jordanian Airlines crew members was involved in a road accident in New York" and that it was "closely monitoring developments in coordination with the relevant authorities."
The crash has prompted a federal investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB). No one should assume what happened or who was responsible until that work is finished. What we can do now is explain the legal framework, because for the people involved, the clock on certain rights starts running immediately.
Understanding How Coach Bus Injury Claims Work
A crash involving a commercial bus almost never comes down to one driver and one decision. Several parties can share responsibility, and identifying each one early often shapes the entire claim.
Depending on what the investigation reveals, the parties with potential responsibility in a bus or mass-transit crash like this can include:
- The bus or charter company, which can be on the hook for its driver's conduct and for its own hiring, training, scheduling, and vehicle-maintenance choices
- The driver of the bus
- The drivers of the other vehicles involved
- A maintenance contractor, or the manufacturer of a defective part such as brakes, tires, or steering
- A government entity, in the narrower situation where road design or roadway conditions played a role
Commercial carriers are also held to safety rules that ordinary drivers aren't — federal and state regulations that cover driver hours, licensing, vehicle inspections, and recordkeeping. Those same rules create evidence: electronic control-module data, driver logs, inspection and maintenance records, dispatch communications, and on-board or roadway camera footage.
That evidence can be erased or lost within weeks, which is why preserving it quickly matters so much. Our firm has handled many serious and catastrophic injury cases involving buses and mass-transit vehicles, and we move fast to send preservation letters to the carrier, its insurer, and any third parties before records disappear.
What Can Injured Passengers And Families Do Under New York Law?
New York is a no-fault insurance state. A passenger hurt on a bus can usually tap no-fault benefits to cover initial medical bills and a share of lost earnings — regardless of who caused the crash — often through the bus's own insurance.
When injuries cross New York's "serious injury" threshold — which includes bone fractures, significant disfigurement, and permanent loss of use of a body function — an injured person can also bring a claim against the at-fault parties for losses that no-fault doesn't reach.
Quick comparison: no-fault benefits vs. a serious-injury claim
In a serious bus-crash claim, money damages can include current and future medical treatment, lost wages and reduced earning ability, rehabilitation costs, and pain and suffering.
Where a crash is fatal, New York's wrongful death law lets certain family members recover economic losses — funeral and burial costs, the financial support the person would have provided, and the value of a parent's guidance to their children. (New York has not historically allowed recovery for a family's emotional grief in wrongful death cases, though lawmakers have debated changing that.)
Because the rules turn on the specific facts, a short conversation with an experienced aNew York personal injury attorney at our firm is usually the fastest way to learn which of these apply.
How Long Do I Have To File A Bus Accident Injury Claim In New York?
In New York, you generally have three years from the date of a crash to file a personal injury lawsuit, and two years to file a wrongful death claim. Shorter deadlines can override those.
If a government vehicle or public authority turns out to be involved, the law can require a formal "notice of claim" within 90 days of the crash — miss it, and the claim may be barred no matter how strong it is. No-fault benefit applications run on an even tighter schedule, often around 30 days from the crash.
Because the deadlines depend on exactly who is responsible, confirming them early is one of the most concrete things a victim or family can do to protect a claim. Our bus accident attorneys can identify every potentially responsible party in your case and calendar every deadline that applies to it.
I Was Hurt In The Crash — Or My Loved One Was. What Should I Do Now?
If you were a member of the crew of Royal Jordanian Flight 8261 that was on the airport shuttle, in one of the vehicles it struck, or you're the family of someone who was killed or seriously injured in last night's crash on the Long Island Expressway, the most important next steps are:
- Keep getting medical care, and keep every record. Even if symptoms feel mild today, concussions, soft-tissue injuries, and spinal injuries often surface days later. Your medical records become the backbone of any claim.
- Save everything tied to the trip and the crash. Boarding details, flight or charter paperwork, hospital discharge papers, photos from the scene, and the names and numbers of fellow passengers and other drivers.
- Be careful with calls from insurance adjusters. The bus company's insurer, the other drivers' insurers, and even your own carrier may call within days. You are not required to give a recorded statement before you understand your rights, and what you say can be used to reduce or deny your claim.
- Don't sign anything or accept a settlement check before talking to a lawyer. Early offers in mass-casualty bus crashes are almost always low — they're designed to close your claim before the full scope of injuries is known.
- Reach out to our firm right away. Evidence in commercial bus cases — black-box data, driver logs, maintenance records, camera footage — can disappear within weeks. The sooner we send preservation letters, the more we can protect.
If a family member was killed, our wrongful death attorneys can help guide your family through the process, including the appointment of a personal representative who has authority to bring a wrongful death claim under New York law.
"If you were on that bus, in one of the cars it hit, or you're waiting on news about a loved one — please don't sign anything or take an early call from an insurer alone. Evidence in these cases disappears fast, and our job is to protect you before it does. Being the voice of the injured is a responsibility we take personally, especially in a moment like this." — Howard Raphaelson, Partner at Raphaelson & Levine Law Firm
When A Bus Crash Changes Lives, Experience Matters
This devastating bus crash on the Long Island Expressway is another tragic reminder that bus companies and transportation providers have one responsibility above all others: safety first. Our thoughts are with everyone affected by the crash, including the bus passengers, drivers, and grieving families.
Every day, buses transport children to school and families to work. Today’s commercial and school buses are equipped with sophisticated technology, including GPS and telematics systems, inward- and outward-facing cameras, electronic control modules, and other digital evidence that can be critical to determining exactly what happened before, during, and after a crash.
Raphaelson & Levine is currently representing victims in the Farmingdale School District bus tragedy and has successfully handled numerous private and public bus accident cases in New York, and have recovered over $1 Billion for our clients.
Catastrophic bus crashes require immediate investigation and the coordinated efforts of leading experts, including accident reconstructionists, biomechanical engineers, technology and data specialists, medical experts, medical examiners, economists, and vocational rehabilitation professionals.
These cases demand significant resources, experience, and a deep understanding of how to uncover the truth. From preserving crucial electronic evidence to proving liability and documenting the full extent of a victim’s losses, every step matters.
Contact Us Today For A Free Consultation
At Raphaelson & Levine, we have the experience, resources, and commitment to guide victims and their families through every stage of these complex cases while relentlessly pursuing the accountability and justice they deserve.
With three convenient locations, our Queens personal injury attorneys are available to explain where you stand, what benefits are available, who may be responsible, and which deadlines apply.
We're available 24/7 in English · Español · 中文（普通话), and work on a contingency basis which means you'll never pay any fees unless we recover compensation for you.
Next Steps: Call 212-268-3222 or contact us online for a free, confidential consultation.
