Driver in fatal bus crash put on unpaid leave

The driver in the bus crash that killed four people Saturday has been placed on "indefinite" unpaid leave.

John Tomaszewski, 59, of Burlington County, was driving a Megabus headed to Toronto from Philadelphia when he missed his exit near Syracuse. He attempted to double back by taking the Onandaga State Parkway only to crash into a low hanging bridge.

Deanna Armstrong, 18, of Voorhees; Kevin Coffey, 19, a business major at Temple University; a Malaysian preacher and a computer technician from India died in the early morning crash. Twenty other passengers were injured.

Tomaszewski, who was also hurt in the accident, was treated at a hospital in Upstate New York and released. He has not been charged, said Sgt. Jamie Blumer of the Onandaga County Sheriff's department.

Tomaszewski was told today he would be "withheld from service" and will not be allowed to go back to work as a driver, said Dale Moser, president of Coach USA parent company of Megabus L.L.C. Because of his injuries, Tomaszewski is eligible to collect worker's compensation.

At the time of the crash, Tomaszewski was using a personal GPS device to navigate back to the Syracuse bus depot. Company policy prohibits drivers from using GPS devices.

Guided by the device, Tomaszewski drove the 13-foot 1-inch bus under a railroad bridge with a 10-foot nine-inch clearance. He failed to notice several signs warning of the low clearance.

Tomaszewski received his commercial driver's license in December and started work for Megabus when it inaugurated its Philadelphia-Toronto route in mid-July. He had driven the route nine times before the crash, Moser said.