By Hank Russell
Nassau County Executive and Republican gubernatorial candidate Bruce Blakeman held a press conference over the weekend in Pembroke calling for the state Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) to stop issuing commercial driver’s licenses (CDLs) to applicants who lack proficiency in basic English. Blakeman said these drivers do not understand basic road signs, resulting in major fatalities.
Blakeman was joined by state Senator George Borello (R-Sunset Bay) and Pembroke/Indian Falls Fire Chief Ed Mileham, all of whom slammed the Hochul Administration for granting commercial licenses to drivers who cannot pass a basic English proficiency test—a failure linked directly to the carnage on New York’s highways.
Pembroke was the site of a fatal bus crash in which five people were killed and more than 40 people were hospitalized when the driver, Bin Shao, lost control of the vehicle on Interstate 90 and went into the median and on the southern shoulder before the bus overturned. Shao was later charged with five counts of manslaughter and five counts of criminally negligent homicide. It was reported that Shao required a Mandarin interpreter at his hearing.
“Five people died because Kathy Hochul’s DMV is failing,” said Blakeman. “Kathy Hochul’s DMV is handing out licenses like they’re flyers on a windshield, this time, to a driver who couldn’t speak English. You cannot safely operate a 50-passenger motorcoach if you can’t read a ‘Low Bridge’ sign, understand a ‘Detour’ warning, or communicate with a State Trooper during an emergency. I want to know: who exactly is Hochul allowing on our roads?”
“Five people are dead here in Pembroke, and that demands accountability,” Borello added. “At a minimum, drivers of commercial vehicles should be able to read road signs, understand warnings, and communicate in an emergency. These are basic safety standards, not optional ones. If the state isn’t making sure those standards are met before handing out licenses, then it’s failing in its responsibility to protect the people on our roads. The governor is playing politics with public safety.”
Beyond this tragedy, Blakeman said, Hochul’s DMV has continued to allow dangerous drivers on the road. Thousands of commercial driver’s licenses have been issued to non-domiciled and non-citizen applicants under Hochul, with tragic consequences.
On December 9, 2025, Yisong Huang, an illegal immigrant from Mexico, was driving a tour bus on Interstate 40 in Tennessee when he allegedly rear-ended a tractor-trailer, causing a chain reaction crash that killed one person and injured two others. Fox News reported that Huang was watching a video on his phone before the crash. He was charged with vehicular manslaughter.
Blakeman also cited a recent critical pedestrian strike in Indiana. He said both drivers had New York-issued CDLs. He concluded by promising a “zero-tolerance” policy for licensing when elected governor.
Long Island Life & Politics reached out to the Hochul campaign and was referred to Hochul’s office. A Hochul spokesperson said Shao received his CDL in 2006 when George Pataki was governor and state police reports indicated that the driver was able to respond in English at the scene of the crash.
A DMV spokesperson said in a statement, “The Department of Motor Vehicles is committed to the safety of New York’s roads. While we cannot comment on ongoing investigations, DMV follows all federal laws when issuing commercial driver licenses. Scoring cheap political points on a tragic crash and spreading misinformation to New Yorkers about what is ultimately an issue regulated by the Trump Administration does nothing to make our state safer.”