Tour bus rollover kills 5 on interstate highway in western New York

A tour bus returning to New York City from Niagara Falls with 54 people aboard crashed and rolled on its side Friday on an interstate highway, killing five passengers and injuring many others, authorities said.

The driver apparently became distracted, lost control and overcorrected before the bus went into the right shoulder and flipped over shortly before 12:30 p.m. on the eastbound side of Interstate 90 in Pembroke, New York, about 25 miles east of Buffalo, state police Maj. Andre Ray said at an evening news conference. He did not say how the driver became distracted, adding that the cause remains under investigation.

Ray said the passengers ranged in age from 1 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 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.

At an earlier news conference, Trooper James O’Callaghan said it appeared most people on the bus were not wearing seat belts.

In response to another bus crash in New York in 2023, a state law requires seat belt use on charter buses built on or after Nov. 28, 2016. The age of the bus in Friday’s crash wasn’t immediately known.

The New York State Thruway Authority said a lengthy stretch of the roadway had been shut down in both directions and drivers were being urged to avoid the area. The westbound lanes were reopened later in the day.

“There was glass all over the road and people’s stuff all over the road,” Powell Stephens of Medina told The Buffalo News after he drove by the crash. “Windows were all shattered.”

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said on the social platform X that she was briefed on the “tragic tour bus accident” and that her office was working with police and local officials.