Tour bus crash in Pembroke New York kills multiples including children
A tour bus back to New York City from Pembroke-covered Niagara Falls in New York, killed several people, including children, police said.
Five people were killed and multiple people injured when a tour bus crashed on an interstate in upstate New York on August 22, authorities said they are releasing new information.
Fifty-four people, including a driver on a tour bus travelling from Niagara Falls in New York to New York City, crashed, capsized, rolled over the levee of Interstate 90 between Rochester and Buffalo, locking passengers away. New York State Police responded to the scene on August 22 at about 12:22pm, according to a news release.
Hospital officials said dozens were taken to local hospitals, including many children.
“I’ve been here for 25 years… This is probably the most traumatic patient we’ve had since the incident in one of my career here in Buffalo,” Dr. Samuel Cloud, chief medical officer at Erie County Medical Center, said at a press conference.
Here’s what we know:
What causes the bus crash?
Police said the cause of the crash was still under investigation. The bus, owned by the company M&Y Tour Inc, traveled east on the interstate. It left the road to median and was then “suddenly” corrected, capsized and rolled down the road sideways, state police said. Authorities say the bus was the only vehicle involved.
“It is believed that the operator was distracted, lost control, overcorrected, and then turned to his right shoulder,” New York State Police Major T. Andre Ray said at a press conference.
Both mechanical bus failures and driver impairment were ruled out as causes, state police said.
Bus residents range from 1 to 74 years old and live from multiple countries, including the US, China, India, the Philippines and the Middle East. None of the deceased is a child.
The crash temporarily closed the lanes in both directions on the interstate.
Who was the victim of the crash?
Authorities have not announced the identity of the deceased or injured person. It is not clear exactly how many people were injured. The five injured people were transported by helicopters, authorities said.
Kaleida Health, which operates several hospitals in the Buffalo area, provided an update on conditions of injuries sustained at the facility. Buffalo General Medical Center has five adults. One person is in good condition and the other has already been discharged from the hospital. The Millard Fillmore suburban hospital welcomed 11 adults and two children. Ten people are in good condition and three are in fair condition. Oishei Children’s Hospital had three children. Two children are in good condition and one child is in serious condition.
Six people were also receiving treatment at the University of Rochester Medical Center, URMC said in a statement on August 22. Three were transported by Mercy Flights, and three were transported by ambulance. Two patients are being treated for serious injuries, and four are medically stable, including children.
Officials at Erie County Medical Center said they are treating 24 patients.
Other tour bus crashes in New York since 2002
Check out some of the other bus crashes that have occurred in New York in recent years.
- November 2024: 28 people were injured in a crash crash on Interstate 490, heading west of the Chilean town.
- January 2024: One passenger was killed, one seriously injured, and 10 people were life-threatening injuries in a bus crash on Interstate 87 southbound Lake George.
- September 2023: Two people were killed in a bus crash and took students from Farmingdale High School to band camp in northeastern Pennsylvania.
- August 2021: Fifty-seven passengers were injured in a bus crash on the Throughway in New York, New York, west of Syracuse.
- July 2011: Two people were killed and 35 were injured in a bus crash on Interstate 390 in Steuben County.
- June 2002: Five people have been killed, and the driver and 41 passengers were injured in a crash on an Interstate 90 bus near Victor.
