COLUMBUS (WCMH) — A Columbus man who was a passenger on the bus that crashed on the Pennsylvania Turnpike early Sunday morning is thankful to be alive.
“It just wasn’t my time,” said Lamar Brady, of Columbus, via phone Sunday afternoon from a bus returning to Columbus.
Brady was one of an estimated 56 passengers on a Z&D Tours bus when it rolled on its side. Z&D Tours is based out of Rockaway, N.J.
According to Pennsylvania State Police, the bus was traveling downhill on a curve, careened up an embankment and rolled over. Two tractor-trailers then struck the bus. A third tractor-trailer then crashed into those trucks. A passenger car was also involved in the pile-up. Photos from the scene show a mangled collision of multiple vehicles including a smashed FedEx truck that left packages sprawled along the highway.
Brady, who said he was awake at the time of the crash, said the bus driver decided to try to pass the FedEx truck, accelerating the bus to an estimated 70 miles per hour.
“As I remember it we were behind the FedEx truck, we went to the passing lane and then he tried to go back over to the right lane, he over-corrected or over-steered,” he said once he returned to Columbus. “Then over-corrected it then we clipped the median and then he over-corrected again and we slammed into the embankment.”
NBC4 has repeatedly reached out to Z&D Tours for comment but as of press time, the company is not answering the phone nor replying to written inquiries.
Investigators have not given a cause for the crash.
US Department of Transporation records show Z&D Tours has not had any crashes within the last 24 months.
Brady said the bus started tumbling at that point. After slamming into the embankment Brady says the truck ended up on its side across all lanes of the highway and was then hit by a truck.
“I was fully awake when it happened. I still see the bus crashing. Every second of it I can see it in my head replaying over and over,” he said.
When Brady was able to get off the bus and put his feet on the ground, he pulled out his cell phone in an attempt to help victims on the bus and in the other vehicles.
“I used my flashlight to see if any of the kids on the bus had any head injuries,” he said.
According to police, there were kids as young as seven-years-old on the bus. Brady says he was trying to do all he could to keep them calm.
He recorded a video on his phone once he got out of the bus through an escape hatch. in the video, he’s also seen helping people who were in another car that was in the crash.
“If you stay calm people will notice you’re calm. And start thinking more rationally than emotionally,” he said.
Brady said at approximately 4 p.m. Sunday that he was on another bus making his way back to Columbus. He said that bus, after stopping in Columbus, would continue its journey onto Cincinnati.
Many of the bus’ passengers were taken to Pennsylvania hospitals. Some were treated and then got back to Ohio later Sunday night. Originally they were supposed to get into Columbus around 7:30 a.m. Brady got back at 7:30 p.m.
Brady said his back was killing him and he could only lift one of his arms to a certain point before it started to hurt. He says many passengers are still in the hospital.
“This wasn’t necessarily a second chance, it was just a near-death experience that says this isn’t your time,” he said Sunday from the bus. “You need to achieve your goals while you have the time.”
