Tour bus rolls over in Massachusetts

updated 6:32 p.m. ET Sept. 5, 2006

AUBURN, Mass. - A bus traveling from New York to Boston rolled over on an interstate off-ramp Tuesday, injuring 33 people, authorities said.

"It appears the bus was probably traveling too fast for the off-ramp, which caused the bus to roll over on its side," Auburn Police Chief Andrew Sluckis said.

The bus was carrying 57 passengers when it turned onto its left side while negotiating a curve in Auburn, about 40 miles southwest of Boston.

Authorities said 33 people were taken to UMass Memorial Medical Center with minor injuries, mostly scrapes and bruises.

The bus is operated by Fung Wah Bus Transportation Inc., which offers low-fare Chinatown-to-Chinatown routes. One-way tickets between Boston and New York cost $15 and have become a popular alternative to trains and more expensive bus lines.

Fung Wah employees in the Boston and New York offices had no immediate comment.

The driver was identified as Chuandai Chen, 44, of Brooklyn, N.Y., State Police said.

Last August, a Fung Wah bus bound for New York caught fire in Meriden, Conn. Forty-five passengers were evacuated moments before flames engulfed the bus. Some passengers complained that Fung Wah ignored their pleas for medical help and insurance claims when they finally arrived in New York.

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