Five people are now confirmed dead after a tour bus was involved in a serious crash on the New York State Thruway between Rochester and Buffalo on Friday, Aug. 22.
Multiple others have been taken to area hospitals, some with serious injuries.
New York State Police Troop T Major Andre Ray confirmed the deaths during a press conference near the crash site Friday evening. According to a news release from state police, 52 people, including the driver, were on board the bus at the time of the incident.
Here’s what we know so far.
New York State Police have released the names of the five victims of Friday’s bus crash on the New York State Thruway as well as the name of the bus operator.
Shankar Kumar Jha, 65 of Madhu Bani, India, Pinki Changrani, 60 of East Brunswick NJ, Columbia University student Xie Hongzhuo, 22 of Beijing, China, Zhang Xiaolan, 55 of Jersey City, NJ and Jian Mingli, 56 of Jersey City, NJ died in the incident.
Bin Shao, 55 of Flushing, NY was operating the vehicle and had no signs of impairment, according to state police.
Five patients — three in stable condition and two in critical condition — remain at the University of Rochester Medical Center, according to the hospital. One of the six patients brought to URMC was discharged.
Both the east and westbound lanes on I-90 between Exit 48A and 49 have been reopened, according to the New York State Thruway Authority.
Westbound lanes opened at 5:08 p.m. on Aug. 22, and the eastbound lanes opened back up to traffic at 8:22 p.m., the New York State Thruway Authority tweeted.
Ten of the 24 patients brought to ECMC after Friday’s bus crash near Pembroke were discharged last night, according to an ECMC spokesperson.
Three of the four patients brought to the operating room and Trauma Intensive Care Unit are currently listed as stable and one is listed as critical. All four patients were admitted to the hospital.
Eleven of the 13 patients seen at Millard Fillmore Suburban Hospital were discharged and the remaining two are in good condition, a Kaleida Health spokesperson said Saturday morning.
At Oishei Children’s Hospital, three patients remain hospitalized; two are in good condition and one is in serious condition and at Buffalo General Medical Center, two of the four patients were discharged; the 2 remaining are stable.
According to a Rochester Regional Health spokesperson, two patients were treated at United Memorial Medical Center in Batavia and released.
The crash comes less than six months after a new state law went into effect requiring passengers over age 8 to wear seatbelts on charter buses manufactured after November 2016. Lawmakers passed the bill in response to a previous fatal crash involving students and teachers.
While the law allows police to issue $50 fines to passengers not wearing seatbelts, it does not specify who is responsible for enforcement — and bus drivers or companies are not held accountable if passengers don’t comply. A state website offers no guidance for how drivers should address the requirement.
Last week, the Bus Association of New York State advised companies to post signs or make announcements to inform passengers about the law. But responsibility ultimately rests with riders, not operators, according to industry publications.
The company behind the wheel of an Aug. 22 tour bus crash on the New York State Thruway failed one-fifth of all safety vehicle inspections in the last two years, but passed all but one of its driver inspections, according to federal records.
The bus company, M&Y Tour Inc. out of Staten Island, received a “satisfactory” safety rating from the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration in September 2024. The rating is the highest a commercial motor vehicle company can receive and indicates “no evidence of substantial non-compliance with safety requirements.”
The company did not report any bus crashes in the last two years, according to the report.
Federal safety inspection reports show M&Y Tour Inc. operates nine charter buses and employs 20 drivers.
Five people are now confirmed dead by state police after a serious crash on the New York State Thruway.
Just before Exit 48A on the Thruway at approximately 12:22 p.m. on Friday, Aug. 22, the operator of a tour bus owned by M&Y Tour, Inc. out of Staten Island is believed to have become distracted, lost control of the bus and overcorrected, exiting the roadway and rolling the bus, according to state police.
There were 54 people total on the bus at the time of the incident — 52 passengers and two employees of the tour bus company. The occupants of the bus ranged in age from 1-74 and reside from multiple countries, including the U.S., China, India, the Philippines and the Middle East. None of the deceased are children.
“First and foremost, our thoughts, prayers and hearts go out to those involved, their friends and their family,” New York State Police Troop T Major Andre Ray said during a press conference near the crash site Friday evening.
The cause of the crash is still under investigation but mechanical failure and operator impairment or intoxication have been ruled out and no charges have been filed at this point.
Kaleida Health, which operates several hospitals in the Buffalo area, said they received 20 patients from the bus crash in a written statement Friday evening.
“We are grateful to local law enforcement and first responders for their quick action on the scene and a special thank you to our staff and providers who are actively caring for these patients,” a Kaleida Health spokesperson said in the statement. “While we hope that events like this never occur, our teams regularly practice and participate in mass casualty incident drills to ensure we are ready to care for our community during any type of emergency situation.”
Six people injured in Friday’s bus crash are being treated at the University of Rochester Medical Center, URMC said in a statement.
Three were transported by Mercy Flight and three by ambulance. Two patients are being treated for critical injuries, and four are medically stable, including a child.
“As our teams work to provide these patients the best possible care, our hearts are with their families, the first responders and medical professionals who responded to the scene, and all those affected by today’s tragic collision,” the statement reads.
As of 5:08 p.m., the westbound lanes of the New York State Thruway have been reopened to traffic, according to a Facebook post on the New York State Thruway Authority’s page.
Eight Mercy Flight helicopters — six Mercy Flight WNY, one Mercy Flight Central Canandaigua and one Life Net – Hornell — and 17 ground division Mercy Flight EMS units responded to the bus crash scene Friday, transporting 19 patients total, according to agency officials.
In total, five patients were transported by helicopter — two each to ECMC in Buffalo and Strong Memorial Hospital in Rochester and one to Oishei Children’s Hospital in Buffalo. Six other patients were transported by ambulance and nine were transported by other means with Mercy Flight EMTs.
Officials at the Erie County Medical Center (ECMC) held a press conference Friday evening and provided an update on how many patients they’ve received from the bus crash.
ECMC has received 24 patients — two are currently in trauma ICU and two others are in the operating room, officials said. The remaining 20 are actively receiving treatment in the emergency department. There were four Mercy Flight landings at ECMC, according to ECMC Chief of Emergency Medicine Dr. Jennifer Pugh.
“I’ve been here 25 years … This is probably the most trauma patients we’ve had from one incident in my career here in Buffalo,” said ECMC Chief Medical Officer Dr. Samuel Cloud.
Multiple ECMC doctors also went to the scene to help treat patients.
Senator Chuck Schumer released the following statement on Aug. 22:
“I’m closely monitoring the tragic tour bus accident in Western NY. We’re in contact with NTSB and they are en route to the scene to launch an investigation. I’m heartbroken for all those we’ve lost and all those injured and praying for their families. Thank you to our brave first responders on the scene.”
The tour bus, chartered from New York City, was returning to the city from Niagara Falls when the bus lost control, entered the median and crossed to the southern shoulder before overturning, multiple witnesses reported to state police.
The New York State Thruway Authority says New York State Police Troops A (Batavia) and E (Canandaigua) are handling the incident and according to state police, the investigation is ongoing and additional information will be released as it becomes available.
Margaret Ferrentino, president of Mercy Flight, told the New York Times that her organization was providing helicopters to transport victims from the crash site to local hospitals, USA TODAY reported.
“Emergency personnel are on scene, and additional ambulances and medical support have been requested,” officials said.
Previous reports from state police said a semi-truck was also involved in the accident but it has since been confirmed that the bus was the only vehicle involved.
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said that she had been briefed on the crash on the afternoon of Friday, Aug. 22.
“My team is coordinating closely with @nyspolice and local officials who are working to rescue and provide assistance to everyone involved,” Hochul’s X post said.
Here’s a look at several other bus crashes that have occurred in New York in recent years.
Contributing: Democrat and Chronicle reporters Marcia Greenwood, Madison Scott, Kayla Canne
