NJ Bus Driver Charged with Deaths of Four Passengers

The trial of a New Jersey bus driver charged with the deaths of four passengers in a crash outside Syracuse opened with a defense lawyer blaming railroad and public officials for failing to fix a dangerously low overpass after numerous accidents.

The lawyer tells an Onondaga County judge that John Tomaszewski had never been on the Onondaga Lake Parkway before, but ended up there when a car blocked his usual route to the city terminal. Tomaszewski said he didn't see the bridge until just before his Megabus plowed into it on Sept. 11, 2010.

Prosecutors say Tuesday that Tomaszewski was checking a personal global positioning system device and ignored numerous warning signs.

The 60-year-old from Yardville, N.J., chose a non-jury trial on four counts of criminally negligent homicide.