Pembroke, N.Y. — Saturday marks one year since the devastating crash on the New York State Thruway in Pembroke.
The crash shutting down the eastbound lane for several hours.
Five people were killed in the crash, and dozens were injured when the bus overturned.
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The driver, Bin Shao, of New York City, pleaded guilty in Genesee County Court to five counts of criminally negligent homicide.
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One of the drivers who passed by, Lakila Jackson was driving west when she passed the scene.
She remembers capturing video in the crawling traffic.
The first responders were seen parked in the median, and the small crowd in the grass behind them, the overturned bus.
“Well, initially seeing it, it was pretty scary,” said Jackson. “I was actually on the way to Canada with my boys, and I just remeNot far, Mary Doktor says she could hear the commotion as the first responders rushed in.
“Probably five or six vehicles went by, and I knew right then and there that there was an accident on the Thruway and I knew it was a bad one,” said Doktor.
The crash brought the Thruway to a halt.
“There, in the many years of the Thruway, there have been several horrific accidents, with this being one of them,” said Commander Andre Ray of the New York State Police Troop T.
Shao told investigators he was trying to grab a water bottle when he lost control of the bus.
“To know that the cause of all that was due to something that could have been prevented, it makes it a bit sadder,” continued Jackson. “You know, especially for those who lost their lives.”
Shao is scheduled to be sentenced on Sept. 9; he faces 15 months to four years in state prison.
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