3rd passenger dies as result of Delaware bus crash

WILMINGTON, Del. — A third passenger has died from injuries she sustained in a tour bus crash last month in Delaware, police said Thursday.

The woman, identified as 43-year-old Jyostina Poojari, of Mumbai, India, died Thursday morning at Christiana Hospital, said Sgt. Paul Shavack.

Two other passengers were killed shortly after the Sept. 21 crash.

Passenger Hua'y Chen, 54, of New York, died at the scene and 30-year-old Idil Bahsi from Istanbul, Turkey, died hours later at Christiana Hospital. Forty-eight passengers and the driver were taken to several Delaware medical facilities for treatment.

The 56-year-old bus driver faces two counts of operation of a vehicle causing the death of another person in connection with the wreck that occurred as the bus exited Del. 1. to go northbound on U.S. 13.

Police allege Jini Zhao, of Flushing, N.Y., lost control of the bus as he attempted to negotiate a curve on the ramp at an unsafe speed. The bus left the roadway, overturned onto its roof, and then slid down a grassy embankment before coming to rest on its left side.

The state police Collision Reconstruction Unit along with the Delaware State Police Motor Carrier Safety Assistance Program Unit, continue to conduct a thorough and comprehensive investigation into the circumstances surrounding the crash and the identification of any other primary contributing factors which led to it.

A preliminary investigation has determined that drugs and alcohol are not considered a contributing factor in this crash.

Additional charges are likely to be filed as the investigation progresses.

The New York-based tour bus was heading back to New York from a trip to Washington, D.C.

Contributing: Esteban Parra and robin brown, The (Wilmington, Del.) News Journal