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Multiple fatalities and injuries, including children, were reported Friday after a tour bus with about 50 passengers headed back to New York City from Niagara Falls crashed into a ditch, state police said.
The bus rolled over after losing control, New York State Police spokesperson James O’Callaghan said at a news conference. He said authorities have a “good idea” of why the crash took place but did not offer further details at this time.
“We believe there is a child that is a fatality,” he said.
First responders were attempting to rescue and aid passengers as several were entrapped and others were ejected from the bus, which suffered a “heavy amount of damage,” O’Callaghan said.
While the investigation is ongoing, O’Callaghan said officials believe most passengers weren’t wearing a seatbelt.
Translators are also coming to assist police as most of the people on the tour bus were Indian, Chinese and Filipino, O’Callaghan said.
A list of the passengers provided by the bus company confirms there were 52 people on board, including the driver, police said in a statement.
The accident took place along Interstate 90 eastbound near the town of Pembroke, east of Buffalo, New York, and roughly 40 miles east of Niagara Falls, a state police spokesperson said in a statement. The state Thruway is currently closed in both directions near the crash site, state police say.
The bus was driving at full speed and did not hit any other vehicles, but lost control from the median onwards, O’Callaghan said.
Helicopters, ambulances and law enforcement swarmed the crash site, where the bus was seen on its side with many people gathered around it.
“Several witnesses observed the bus lose control, enter the median, then cross to the southern shoulder and overturn,” the state police said in a news release.
The state’s department of transportation is trying to help people get off the interstate as some remain stranded due to the incident, O’Callaghan said.
“It’s a very volatile scene. We have vehicles going the wrong way on the 90,” he said, describing the area as “highly traveled.”
The driver is “alive and well” and working with authorities, O’Callaghan said, and some victims were taken to the Strong Memorial Hospital in Rochester, New York.
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul described the crash as “tragic” and said first responders are “working to rescue and provide assistance to everyone involved” in a post on X.
This is a developing story and will be updated.