A tour bus traveling back to New York City from Niagara Falls, carrying 54 passengers, crashed and flipped onto its side Friday on an interstate highway. The accident resulted in five fatalities and left many others injured, according to authorities.
The driver apparently became distracted, lost control and overcorrected before the bus went into the right shoulder and flipped over shortly before 12.30pm on the eastbound side of Interstate 90 in Pembroke, New York, about 40 kilometres east of Buffalo, state police Maj. Andre Ray said at an evening news conference, News.Az reports citing foreign media.
He did not say how the driver became distracted, adding that the cause remains under investigation.
Ray said the passengers ranged in age from one to 74.
Multiple people were ejected from the bus during the crash, and five people — all adults — were pronounced dead at the scene, Ray said.
Many others became entrapped in the wreck and were rescued. Dozens were taken to hospitals. Ray said it didn't appear any other people had life-threatening injuries.
“An absolute tragedy took place,” Ray said. “And first and foremost, our thoughts, prayers and hearts go out to those involved, their friends and their families.”
State police said most of the passengers on the bus were of Indian, Chinese and Filipino ethnicity, and authorities brought in translators to help with the emergency response.
Ray said a preliminary investigation ruled out mechanical failure or driver impairment. The driver survived the crash and was cooperating with police, officials said. No charges had been filed as of Friday evening, Ray said.
The National Transportation Safety Board said it was sending a team to New York to investigate the crash.
The Mercy Flight medical transport service said its three helicopters and three more from other services transported people from the crash site. Hospitals in the region said they evaluated or treated more than 40 people. Injuries ranged from head trauma to broken arms and legs.
Two people who needed surgery at Erie County Medical Center in Buffalo were expected to recover, said Dr. Jeffrey Brewer, chief of surgery.
State police said the bus was owned by M&Y Tour Inc. in the New York City borough of Staten Island. A message seeking comment was left at a phone listing for the company.
M&Y Tour has a “satisfactory” safety rating and no record of accidents or fatalities over the past two years, according to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. Officials inspected the company's buses and drivers 60 times over the past two years, the agency said.
