BOSTON - The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration is investigating a bus fire where the passengers say the driver ignored warnings, was told by his supervisors to keep driving, and attempted to run away when the fire intensified as the police were questioning him.

The bus that burned was owned by the same Chinatown operator, Kristine Travel and Tour Inc., that owned a coach that crashed in Canada about four years ago, killing four middle school students from Massachusetts.

The latest incident occurred last month on the Massachusetts Turnpike when a bus operating under the name Luck Star Travel Pack, which is owned by Kristine Travel, burst into flames. The passengers narrowly escape the inferno.

One passenger, identified as University of Massachusetts student Jonathan Jones, told a Boston television station that the driver drove for several miles knowing there was a fire, but was told to continue driving by his superiors.

Another passenger, Silvia Illia, said a bizarre sequence of events began when one of the tires appeared to blow out. Illia said the bus stopped and she and others got out and saw white smoke coming from the rear.

A turnpike employee, she said, came over to check on the situation before the driver, Shitong Ou, examined the bus and ordered everyone to get back on board.

Back on the road, with smoke entering the bus, Illia said Ou was driving
slowly while speaking in Chinese on a walkie-talkie. The bus stopped again,
Illia said.

Ou got out, inspected the bus, reboarded, and started driving again, this time at a higher speed.

"It was really uncomfortable to be there," Illia said. "We had a flat and
he kept going."

Approaching a toll plaza, Ou again stopped and screamed, "Everybody out! Everybody out!,'" Illia said. "The whole thing went up in flames."

An executive with the company disputed that Ou continued driving after he knew the vehicle had a problem.

According to Illia, Ou initially was calm while being interviewed by police. But as the fire intensified, she said, he tried to run away by jumping over a steel barrier between the traffic lanes. Police managed to calm him down, she said.

The FMCSA confirmed it is actively investigating the matter.

Ou had his CDL suspended for 60 days last year after he was ticketed for going at least 15 miles over the speed limit in Connecticut, one of five traffic citations he received while driving buses in 2004, according to Registry of Motor Vehicle records. Two were for speeding.

In April 2001, a bus operated by Kristine Travel crashed on a hairpin turn on an exit ramp in New Brunswick. Four members of a school band were killed.