Driver: Bus ‘just took off’

NEW YORK — The driver of a New York City bus that plunged off a bridge blamed the dramatic crash on mechanical failure, saying Saturday that the tandem vehicle “just took off” as he slowed into a turn.

Everton Beccan, 55, disputed the Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s assertion a day earlier that he had refused to submit to a drug and alcohol test at the hospital.

“There’s no reason for me to refuse a drug test,” Beccan, who broke his jaw in late Thursday’s crash, said at a news conference after his release from the hospital. “I’m just thankful that no one lost their life.”

The MTA on Saturday released an internal document that says Beccan refused three times to submit a urine sample to the transit agency. The test Beccan ultimately took was done by the hospital and wasn’t conducted until several hours after the crash, the agency said.

The MTA said the driver is home without pay during the investigation.