Bus hanging over CBE...

[danielhg121]

https://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/ny-nyc-bus-driver-pulled-off-job-overpass-crash-20210116-7ooss7c6izb55ia22n6hn2elw4-story.html

Quote

An outraged city bus driver, charging he was slandered by MTA officials, insisted Saturday that he provided a urine sample for drug and alcohol testing after his vehicle plunged from an overpass onto the Cross Bronx Expressway in a late-night wreck. Everton Beccan, 55, provided the Daily News with paperwork from the St. Barnabas Hospital emergency center indicating his urine specimen was received at 10:33 a.m Friday — about 11 hours after the crash. He spoke just hours after he was officially pulled off the job without pay Saturday morning, and one day after he was publicly accused of dodging the mandatory test. “The story that I refused to take a urine test was a blatant lie,” the 11-year MTA veteran told The News through a jaw wired shut after the crash. “I am 1,000,000% not worried. I don’t do drugs. Nothing at all.” Transit officials first leveled the claim at a Friday news conference, where Interim New York City Transit President Sarah Feinberg described the driver’s refusal as “extremely troubling.” But Beccan said the allegation against him was the troubling part of the tale.

“Don’t say I refused to take a drug test,” said Beccan, who learned about the allegation from a co-worker. ”I was very upset. To put out a statement to the public without accurate information, that’s slander on them. That doesn’t make no sense.”

Beccan, 55, was officially sidelined two days after the Thursday night crash where the Bronx bus with seven passengers aboard went front-end first off the overpass. The rear of the articulated bus remained perched precariously above the expressway.

According to the MTA, Beccan passed a breath test for alcohol after the University Ave. crash in Highbridge, but then declined a second test for drugs and alcohol at a local hospital, authorities said.

“Refusal to take a drug test in this situation is grounds for immediate termination, but he has a right to due process,” an MTA official said Saturday. “This is just the beginning of that process.”

Beccan, released from the hospital Friday night with the broken jaw and other injuries, recounted his quick agreement to take the breathalyzer test, recalling how the NYPD arrived at the hospital to take the sample.

“Right away, I did it,” he said after spending a sleepless night over the test allegation. “I’m not worried about nothing. I’m clean.”

The Bronx father of two was driving his regular route when the harrowing wreck occurred, and authorities said he assisted the passengers in escaping the upside-down front half of the bus.

“I had to walk out of the bus through the (missing) windshield,” Beccan told The News. “There was an older guy, I helped him out. And a girl whose head was cut, who was crying, I helped her too. I’m just glad no one died. It is an accident, that’s what it is.”

Authorities said Beccan was a transit veteran with a good safety record prior to the incident. His bus was inspected one day before the accident, with no problems reported.

So it turns out he did submit a drug test after all? There's proof in the article itself of him submitting a urine sample. 

 

Edited January 16, 2021 by danielhg121

[Lawrence St]

I'm not surprised from , officials will lie and HR wont be helpful. Has TWU 100 commented on the issue yet?

[Deucey]

8 minutes ago, danielhg121 said:

https://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/ny-nyc-bus-driver-pulled-off-job-overpass-crash-20210116-7ooss7c6izb55ia22n6hn2elw4-story.html

So it turns out he did submit a drug test after all? There's proof in the article itself of him submitting a urine sample. 

 

Oh so he's got enemies talking to the C-Suite.

Bruh's gonna get a FAT CHECK when he wins the slander and wrongful termination suit.

[+Young+]

https://abc7ny.com/mta-bus-driver-speaks-out-after-accident-left-bus-dangling-off-bridge/9723710/

 

 

This should be curious compared with the following Press Conference, however we'll see what happens.

 

Edited January 16, 2021 by +Young+

[QM1to6Ave]

Whether or not he initially delayed giving the sample, or they were just very slow in collecting it, an 11 hour delay is troubling for getting the sample...a lot of substances might not show up by by. THese samples are supposed to be taken as quickly as possible after arriving at the hospital. 

[40MntVrn]

2 hours ago, Deucey said:

I'd rather get the lesser penalty from excessive speed and possibly be reassigned and keep my CDL - based on my record - and be able to go drive elsewhere if I'm terminated than have a full health and fitness investigation and lose my CDL cuz they found "something" and drew conclusions.

Bingo.

[+Young+]

6 minutes ago, QM1to6Ave said:

...An 11 hour delay is troubling for getting the sample...

Eleven [11] hours? Why is this troubling? Although I understand where you are coming from, you know that, according to this post, in the pre-pandemic era, some people have to wait seven [7] hours for the same drug (urine) test for the purposes of pre-employment, right?

Talk about waiting for a long period of time...

[QM1to6Ave]

2 minutes ago, +Young+ said:

Eleven [11] hours? Why is this troubling? Although I understand where you are coming from, you know that, according to this post, in the pre-pandemic era, some people have to wait seven [7] hours for the same drug (urine) test for the purposes of pre-employment, right?

Talk about waiting for a long period of time...

There's a big difference between a run-of-the-mill pre-employment drug test, versus a drug test right after one of the biggest bus accidents in recent memory. It is in the B/O's best interest, as well as the MTA's to be able to say "we got a sample as quickly as possible and can as best as possible run out any substances." If I'm just doing a regular pre-employment drug test, it is essentially just a check-box item to make sure the candidate passes a drug test. I'm not saying people should have to sit around all day to give that sample either, but it's not an emergency issue.

[+Young+]

4 minutes ago, QM1to6Ave said:

...I'm not saying people should have to sit around all day to give that sample either...

Thank you! The quote above is all I needed.

1 hour ago, Lawrence St said:

I'm not surprised from , officials will lie and HR wont be helpful. Has TWU 100 commented on the issue yet?

They have on their Twitter page, which includes this, this, this, this, this and this post.

If you folks want to save yourselves some time, some of these links include the news stories which were done by WPIX-TV (Channel 11) and WABC-TV (Channel 7), which I already posted in this thread.

This should be very interesting, especially with what happened in this country within the past twelve months...

Edited January 16, 2021 by +Young+
Important Addition

[Via Garibaldi 8]

2 hours ago, Deucey said:

Three scenarios come to mind:

1) Secondhand inhalation from bus patrons who did smoke something before getting on

2) That Seinfeld where Elaine ate a poppyseed muffin and was positive for opium

3) He had some Motrin or a caffeine pill like Vivarin in his system. Motrin could cause a med record search and find a diagnosis of an undisclosed condition causing pain that could fail or cause concerns on a DOT physical; if the caffeine pills was wearing off, could cause them to question his alertness and start checking to see if he had some DOT-concerned sleep disorder.

If I'm him, I'm declining everything so they don't have a chance to do to me what was done with those MNRR motormen.

I'd rather get the lesser penalty from excessive speed and possibly be reassigned and keep my CDL - based on my record - and be able to go drive elsewhere if I'm terminated than have a full health and fitness investigation and lose my CDL cuz they found "something" and drew conclusions.

Well apparently he DID submit what was requested... He seems to be saying that the bus took off on him when he went to make that turn and that he has made many times and knows he can't make it very fast...

https://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/ny-nyc-bus-driver-pulled-off-job-overpass-crash-20210116-7ooss7c6izb55ia22n6hn2elw4-story.html?fbclid=IwAR3HoVoTmS_W_vjP1DNrT0PdlqxfmWdxJG-xiddk8pr2QO6v32ioMA-CGec

Let's see what the big mouths have to say... 

[Via Garibaldi 8]

1 hour ago, Lawrence St said:

I'm not surprised from , officials will lie and HR wont be helpful. Has TWU 100 commented on the issue yet?

Nice when people jump to conclusions... Where's the other big mouth know-it-all? 

[Lawrence St]

4 minutes ago, Via Garibaldi 8 said:

Nice when people jump to conclusions... Where's the other big mouth know-it-all? 

What do you mean jump to conclusions?

[+Young+]

4 minutes ago, Via Garibaldi 8 said:

Nice when people jump to conclusions... Where's the other big mouth know-it-all? 

If you're talking about "Progressive Action," here it is. I would not be surprised if he mentions this in his next show, which will probably be sometime next week.

[Via Garibaldi 8]

4 minutes ago, +Young+ said:

If you're talking about "Progressive Action," here it is. I would not be surprised if he mentions this in his next show, which will probably be sometime next week.

No, I'm talking about people in this forum that jumped to conclusions, trying to guess what this guy did wrong without any factual information. I'm still waiting to see how this all plays out.  I know the guy from Progressive Action. We get along fine. He's in my advocacy group. He's already posting about this.

Edited January 16, 2021 by Via Garibaldi 8

[Via Garibaldi 8]

Well I just spoke to someone in the know. Despite the way this news article appears and the tests he took, apparently the bus operator refused a federal mandated drug and alcohol test, which is what the  is talking about, not the ones he took in the hospital, and if that's the case, the thinking is he will indeed be fired. Again, I'm going to wait and see how this plays out.

I am also hearing that they found skid marks at the scene. I'm not saying anything else but not looking good for him now, especially with him speaking without a lawyer or any representation.

Edited January 17, 2021 by Via Garibaldi 8

[Bay Ridge Express]

4 hours ago, Via Garibaldi 8 said:

No, I'm talking about people in this forum that jumped to conclusions, trying to guess what this guy did wrong without any factual information. I'm still waiting to see how this all plays out.  I know the guy from Progressive Action. We get along fine. He's in my advocacy group. He's already posting about this.

Thank you. Lots and lots of misinformation floating around... and on Citizen, they've been pushing the narrative "from MTA officials" that he refused the drug test... Just give it time. We don't know what happened yet.

On top of that, there's calls to sue the MTA (despite what simply appears to be a brake failure [not confirmed btw] Who knows, MTA officials might "investigate" and simply blame the driver to avoid whatever crap they'd have to deal with otherwise).

[GojiMet86]

[paulrivera]

This drug test situation all appears to be he-said-she-said. Both the driver and the MTA are playing a classic case of C.Y.A.

The driver doesn't want to lose his job, and the MTA doesn't want about 10 lawsuits hanging over it's debt ridden head.

I don't know who to believe, so I'll just wait and see how the investigation plays out.

[Via Garibaldi 8]

12 hours ago, Bay Ridge Express said:

Thank you. Lots and lots of misinformation floating around... and on Citizen, they've been pushing the narrative "from MTA officials" that he refused the drug test... Just give it time. We don't know what happened yet.

On top of that, there's calls to sue the MTA (despite what simply appears to be a brake failure [not confirmed btw] Who knows, MTA officials might "investigate" and simply blame the driver to avoid whatever crap they'd have to deal with otherwise).

 

8 hours ago, paulrivera said:

This drug test situation all appears to be he-said-she-said. Both the driver and the MTA are playing a classic case of C.Y.A.

The driver doesn't want to lose his job, and the MTA doesn't want about 10 lawsuits hanging over it's debt ridden head.

I don't know who to believe, so I'll just wait and see how the investigation plays out.

I have been keeping my mouth shut, but there has been an ongoing battle between the  and the maintenance guys. Some months back, there was talk of slowdowns at at least some depots, as the  wanted to or did cut back on things like overtime. Publicly, they have been talking about pushing back their rehab cycle on buses from four years to six years (at least the express buses anyway).  All of this would mean less work for the maintenance guys, and they have their ways of pushing back. 

I have also been privy to information at some depots that has left my head spinning. Case-in-point. One depot had a bunch of buses out of service that were suddenly fixed in a very short period of time that seemed impossible. The number was high enough that questions were asked, so the idea that this bus was checked the day before and there were no problems doesn't mean much to me.  

The driver is in a tough situation. He doesn't want to throw anyone under the bus (especially not the maintenance guys (assuming his bus did indeed "take off" on him as he claims)), and the union reps. stopped him from insinuating that it was in any way because of a lack of maintenance.  From what I was told, the issue here is that the driver supposedly refused a federal mandated drug and alcohol test. That is supposed to be part of the protocol, so he can take all of the tests he wants from the hospital - that's a side point. Let's assume that the bus operator is totally innocent. If he is fired, it will be because he didn't follow certain protocols, and for a driver with his experience of over 10 years, he should be well aware of the procedures. There are other things at the scene that I don't believe the  has made public, but that led them to believe that speed was a factor. Since I have not seen it mentioned publicly, I won't mention it here.

Edited January 17, 2021 by Via Garibaldi 8

[MHV9218]

17 hours ago, Via Garibaldi 8 said:

No, I'm talking about people in this forum that jumped to conclusions, trying to guess what this guy did wrong without any factual information. I'm still waiting to see how this all plays out.  I know the guy from Progressive Action. We get along fine. He's in my advocacy group. He's already posting about this.

 

16 hours ago, Via Garibaldi 8 said:

Well I just spoke to someone in the know. Despite the way this news article appears and the tests he took, apparently the bus operator refused a federal mandated drug and alcohol test, which is what the  is talking about, not the ones he took in the hospital, and if that's the case, the thinking is he will indeed be fired. Again, I'm going to wait and see how this plays out.

I am also hearing that they found skid marks at the scene. I'm not saying anything else but not looking good for him now, especially with him speaking without a lawyer or any representation.

Okay, so, in summary, despite calling everybody a "big mouth know-it-all," you just posted exactly the same thing as the news reports only through a nameless "somebody in the know." We already know speed was a factor, because that was in the black box reporting from CBS that I linked to days ago.

Here's the thing: nobody knows exactly what happened. Everybody has been guessing at the situation, as they have a right to do, and going off news reports. Nobody has been saying anything with certainty or accusing anybody. What is the point of slandering people on the forum for doing exactly what you're doing? 

[paulrivera]

3 hours ago, Via Garibaldi 8 said:

There are other things at the scene that I don't believe the  has made public, but that led them to believe that speed was a factor.

There have been public references to the bus having a data recorder, GPS, and cameras; so they do have significant information to work with even if the data and the images themselves are never made public.

[40MntVrn]

3 hours ago, MHV9218 said:

 

Okay, so, in summary, despite calling everybody a "big mouth know-it-all," you just posted exactly the same thing as the news reports only through a nameless "somebody in the know." We already know speed was a factor, because that was in the black box reporting from CBS that I linked to days ago. 

This.

[Via Garibaldi 8]

6 hours ago, MHV9218 said:

 

Okay, so, in summary, despite calling everybody a "big mouth know-it-all," you just posted exactly the same thing as the news reports only through a nameless "somebody in the know." We already know speed was a factor, because that was in the black box reporting from CBS that I linked to days ago.

Here's the thing: nobody knows exactly what happened. Everybody has been guessing at the situation, as they have a right to do, and going off news reports. Nobody has been saying anything with certainty or accusing anybody. What is the point of slandering people on the forum for doing exactly what you're doing? 

Let's be clear here. I'm referring to you because you think you know it all. That's correct. None of us were there and we should let this play out. Regardless of what the news has said, you've played judge and jury with the guy from the start. You should speak for yourself instead of acting like you represent everybody. 

As far the news goes, the info has varied depending on the outlet, so again, I take all of that with a grain of salt.

Edited January 17, 2021 by Via Garibaldi 8

[Via Garibaldi 8]

19 hours ago, Bay Ridge Express said:

Thank you. Lots and lots of misinformation floating around... and on Citizen, they've been pushing the narrative "from MTA officials" that he refused the drug test... Just give it time. We don't know what happened yet.

On top of that, there's calls to sue the MTA (despite what simply appears to be a brake failure [not confirmed btw] Who knows, MTA officials might "investigate" and simply blame the driver to avoid whatever crap they'd have to deal with otherwise).

Yeah, people keep saying WE KNOW this and we know that. We only know what we've been told. Nothing more.

Edited January 17, 2021 by Via Garibaldi 8

[MHV9218]

7 minutes ago, Via Garibaldi 8 said:

Let's be clear here. I'm referring to you because you think you know it all. That's correct. None of us were there and we should let this play out. Regardless of what the news has said, you've played judge and jury with the guy from the start. You should speak for yourself instead of acting like you represent everybody. 

As far the news goes, the info has varied depending on the outlet, so again, I take all of that with a grain of salt.

You gotta stop making shit up whole cloth.

You're welcome to go back in this thread and read everything I and others have said, and try to find me a post that reflects that. We've read from the news and looked at the reports.

Not sure why you think your nameless source speculation is somehow better than everybody else's.

Moving on!