A tour bus carrying more than 50 passengers lost control and rolled over on an Upstate New York highway on Friday, killing at least five people and injuring dozens of others.
The accident occurred on Interstate 90 in Pembroke, approximately 30 miles east of Buffalo, while the bus was traveling from Niagara Falls to New York City to State Trooper James O’Callaghan, most passengers were Asian or of Asian descent, including Chinese, Indian, and Filipino nationals.
The passengers ranged in age from 1 to 74 years . State Police Major Andre Ray stated that the driver apparently became distracted, lost control, and overcorrected before the bus flipped over on the eastbound side of the highway shortly before 12:30 p.m. .
The driver, who survived the crash, was cooperating with investigators. Multiple passengers became trapped in the wreckage and needed to be extricated, while others were thrown from the bus when it rolled across the highway before coming to rest on its side in a ditch.
The National Transportation Safety Board is sending a team to investigate the accident. New York Governor Kathy Hochul confirmed that “five lives were tragically lost” in what officials described as “an absolute tragedy” .
Preliminary investigations have ruled out mechanical failure or driver impairment as causes of the crash .
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