© Merrily Cassidy/Cape Cod Times / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
(Pembroke, NY) — Five people are confirmed dead, including a child, after a tour bus crashed in western New York Friday (August 22) afternoon. Police say the bus overturned on the eastbound side of the New York State Thruway in the town of Pembroke between Exits 48A and 49, after the driver lost control, hit a semi-truck, went into the median and crossed to the shoulder before rolling over. A number of people were ejected from the bus upon impact and others were trapped.
Doctors from the Erie County Medical Center say they’ve been treating over 20 passengers for everything from blunt trauma to head injuries and worse. Since most of the bus passengers are Indian, Chinese, and Filipino, the hospital said they used all of their translation services.
The bus was carrying 52 passengers and was on its way back to New York City from Niagara Falls. Police say the driver was not impaired and is cooperating with the investigation.
