The driver seemed to have become distracted, leading to a loss of control and an overcorrection before the bus veered onto the right shoulder and overturned just before 12:30 pm on Interstate 90 eastbound in Pembroke, New York, roughly 40 kilometers east of Buffalo, stated state police Major Andre Ray during 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.
Several people were thrown from the bus during the incident, and five adults were declared dead at the scene, Ray mentioned. Numerous others were trapped in the wreckage and required rescue.
Dozens were taken to hospitals. Ray said it didn’t appear any other people had life-threatening injuries.
“An absolute tragedy occurred,” Ray noted. “Foremost, our thoughts, prayers, and hearts go out to those involved, their friends, and their families.”
State police indicated that the majority of the bus passengers were of Indian, Chinese, and Filipino descent, leading authorities to enlist translators to aid in the emergency response.
Ray stated that an initial investigation excluded any mechanical failure or driver impairment. The driver survived the accident and was cooperating with the investigation, 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 Centre 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 November 28, 2016.
The age of the bus in Friday’s crash wasn’t immediately known.
The New York State Thruway Authority declared a sizeable section of the roadway closed in both directions, advising drivers to steer clear of 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 Governor 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.
