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The bus that went boom started having problems before Hartford

By adamg on Tue, 05/12/2015 - 3:16pm

The Dig posts a first-person account by somebody who was on that New York-to-Boston bus that didn't quite make it to Boston yesterday:

The Rosie Perez circa-1988-sounding driver tried to tell everyone that an alarm was going off, and that a mechanic was going to have to check the bus out. We were told it could take anywhere from five minutes to a half hour. This was around 1:40 pm.

Neighborhoods: 
Newton
Free tagging: 
Massachusetts Turnpike


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Comments

By Scumquistador on Tue, 05/12/2015 - 3:21pm.

busted

By SharpWave on Tue, 05/12/2015 - 3:46pm.

I was on this bus and this guy's account is 100% accurate. I was also near the back of the bus. Not sure of the timing between the last passenger getting off the bus and fire engulfing the cabin but it was in the 5-10 minute range.

By adamg on Tue, 05/12/2015 - 3:51pm.

What was it like getting off the thing? And once you were off, where were you standing as it exploded?

By SharpWave on Tue, 05/12/2015 - 4:03pm.

People were generally calm but were moving FAR too slowly for my taste. For a minute it was pretty nerve wracking suppressing the urge to panic. I was pretty far away when it exploded. Ended up climbing a fence and calling a cab.

By issacg on Tue, 05/12/2015 - 4:33pm.

I got off my bus (which was on fire), got to a safe place, watched it explode, jumped a fence and took a cab to my destination.

If I could send you a cyberbeer, Sir/Madam, I would do so.

By Elmer on Tue, 05/12/2015 - 5:31pm.

By SwirlyGrrl on Tue, 05/12/2015 - 5:37pm.

The smart get lost!

Well played.

By Ari O on Tue, 05/12/2015 - 7:21pm.

Cheaper, and the T hasn't even blown up yet this week!

By anon on Tue, 05/12/2015 - 9:09pm.

It's only Tuesday...

By issacg on Tue, 05/12/2015 - 4:31pm.

that guy's account on dig was moderately amusing.

All I can hear in my head now is Rosie Perez in White Men Can't Jump telling Woody Harrelson that "its the Stookie Brothers!!!"

What does disturb me, though, was that the slowness of people to react and get the hell away seems to be a common refrain in all the accounts that I've read.

By SwirlyGrrl on Tue, 05/12/2015 - 4:59pm.

This might be a useful geek out on the subject: http://link.springer.com/article/10.1186%2Fs40038-...

It takes time to comprehend the situation, but perception of time can slow versus actual elapsed time once the "gotta get out NOW" threshold is reached. Also possible that people in the back perceived more urgency than those up front, due to their proximity to the fire.

IMAGE(http://static-content.springer.com/image/art%3A10.1186%2Fs40038-014-0005-z/MediaObjects/40038_2014_5_Fig1_HTML.gif)

By MassMouse on Tue, 05/12/2015 - 5:54pm.

So surprised no one has brought up that raggedy bus company yet...

By cybah on Tue, 05/12/2015 - 6:51pm.

They trying to come back in service. Their website says they are hiring drivers.

http://www.fungwahbus.com/Default.aspx

Adam even did a story about them possibly coming back (from Dec '14)

http://www.universalhub.com/2014/remember-when-everybody-was-fung-wah-ri...

By Cuzidotrumpet on Tue, 05/12/2015 - 6:27pm.

"The bus' soul bolted upwards towards the great bus depot in the sky as its body exploded."

By anon on Tue, 05/12/2015 - 11:02pm.

Not surprised. The Bolt Bus I was supposed to take out of SS at 6:30 last Friday night broke down on the was there and a replacement had to be sent. Wouldn't even be surprised if that was this same bus.

By Ha Ha on Wed, 05/13/2015 - 12:30pm.

FUNG WHOOPS