Batavia, N.Y. — The driver who was behind the wheel of a tour bus that crashed on the New York State Thruway in Genesee County last summer, killing five passengers injuring 48 others, now faces charges.
Police said the tour bus was returning from Niagara Falls to New York City with 54 people on board when the driver became distracted and the bus overturned.
Bin Shao, 56, of New York City was arraigned Friday in Genesee County Court, charged with five counts of criminally negligent homicide and five counts of manslaughter.
BACKGROUND: Heartbreak on the Thruway: Eyewitness recounts haunting moments of tour bus tragedy | Family’s vacation turns tragic after tour bus crash on way back home
The bus, a 2005 motorcoach owned by Staten Island-based M&Y Tours Inc., was traveling east on the Thruway in Pembroke Aug. 22 around 12:20 p.m. when it veered off the roadway and onto the right shoulder, according to a National Transportation Safety Board report. The bus then went back onto the road and continued into the grassy median area before swerving back into the eastbound lanes, turning counterclockwise and rolling onto its right side. The vehicle came to a rest with its front end on the shoulder and edge of the road about a quarter mile east of mile marker 404.
Shao was booked Thursday night in the Genesee County Jail, according to jail records. He pleaded not guilty Friday and was held on $100,000 bail. His next court date is scheduled for March 9.
New York State Police held a press conference Friday afternoon to discuss the arrest.
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