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Wheel falls off bus on trip from New York to Hampton

Posted at 6:35 PM, Nov 30, 2015
and last updated 2015-12-01 10:13:16-05

Hampton, Va. - A bus ride home from New York to Hampton Sunday ended up taking a lot longer than expected after it broke down part way into the trip.

People on board tell NewsChannel 3 that's the least of their concerns, though.

"Lives could have been lost," said Lillian Rodriguez.

The bus was in Maryland, about five hours into the trip,  when passengers say a wheel came off and went rolling down the street.

The bus is from a company called "United Bus and Travel." Locally, it operates out of Langley Square Shopping Center in Hampton, but passengers had to wait for a replacement from New York.

After waiting for hours, Rodriguez and three others finally decided to take a long taxi ride home and share the cab fare, which was $350.

It was a much longer and more expensive trip than she'd expected, but she says that's not her main concern now.

"They need to check their buses.  Just collecting money, money, money... People entrust their lives to you," Rodriguez said.

Another passenger, Edith Richardson said the same thing.   "Fix your bus.  If you want it to be used, you know, I feel like, the maintenance on the bus can be better."

Rodriguez says she was reimbursed $20, half the cost of a one-way ticket.  It's unclear if other passengers are being refunded.

A representative from the company in New York says they are still looking into exactly what happened.