NEED TO KNOW
- Officials have released the names of the five people who died in the New York State tour bus crash, including a college student and a tourist from India
- State troopers out of Buffalo first responded to the rollover collision on New York’s Interstate 90 in the town of Pembroke on Aug. 22
- A tour bus owned by a company based in Staten Island was traveling eastbound on the highway when the driver exited the roadway into the median and then “abruptly corrected,” police said
Officials have released the names of the five people who died in the New York State tour bus crash — and the victims include a Columbia University student and a tourist from India.
On Saturday, Aug. 23, the New York State Police announced that the five people killed as the bus was headed from Niagara Falls to New York City were Shankar Kumar Jha, 65, of Madhu Bani, India; Columbia University student Xie Hongzhuo, 22, of Beijing, China; Pinki Changrani, 60, of East Brunswick, N.J.; as well as Zhang Xiaolan, 55, and Jian Mingli, 56, both of Jersey City, N.J.
Bin Shao, 55, of Flushing, N.Y., was operating the vehicle and had no signs of impairment, police added.
State troopers out of Buffalo first responded to the rollover collision on Interstate 90 in the town of Pembroke on Friday, Aug. 22, at 12:22 p.m. local time, police said.
A 2005 Van Wool Bus and Coach tour bus owned by a Staten Island-based tour company was traveling eastbound on the highway when the driver exited the roadway into the median and then “abruptly corrected, causing the bus to overturn and roll off the I-90 on the south embankment,” police said.
Witnesses previously told authorities that they saw the “bus lose control, enter the median, then cross to the southern shoulder and overturn.”
“Multiple passengers were ejected, trapped with five deceased at the scene. Multiple individuals were taken to Erie County Medical Center, Strong Memorial Hospital, Millard Fillmore Suburban and UMMR in Batavia. Mercy Flight and numerous EMS and first responders assisted at the scene,” police added.
The bus was carrying 54 passengers, and the cause of the collision is still under investigation. Police previously confirmed that the passengers ranged in age from 1 to 74 years old.
New York State Police Maj. Andre Ray confirmed in a press conference on Aug. 22 that no children had died in the incident, despite previous reports.
“There were children transported to the hospital,” he confirmed. “I’m unaware of any serious physical injuries to children at this point.”
Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE’s free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.
Ray also said, according to the last update he received, “no one else was in a life-threatening status” and “multiple people were treated and subsequently released already.”
Witness Powell Stephens, who drove past the collision site, told WHAM-TV that the scene was “heartbreaking to see.”
“There were a lot of people embracing each other,” he said. “It looked like people were breaking down.”
According to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, M&Y Tour, which owned the tour bus, has a “satisfactory” safety rating and no record of accidents or fatalities over the past two years, per the Associated Press.
The agency told the AP that officials had inspected the company’s buses and drivers 60 times over the past two years, though the New York Post reported on Aug. 23 that the company’s vehicles failed nine inspections out of 43 in that time, citing records from the agency.
New York State Trooper James O’Callaghan also added on Aug. 22 that officials believe most of the passengers were not wearing a seatbelt, CNN reported.
New York State Police said on Aug. 23 that the investigation is still active, and police are asking anyone who may have witnessed the crash or has dash cam footage to contact State Police at (585) 344-6200.
Read the full article here
