Batavia, N.Y. — The driver of a tour bus that crashed on the New York State Thruway in Genesee County last summer, killing five people, said he was trying to retrieve a water bottle when he lost control of the bus, according to a police deposition obtained by 13WHAM.
Police said the bus was returning from Niagara Falls to New York City with 54 people on board, including the driver, Bin Shao, when he became distracted and the bus overturned Aug. 22 on Interstate 90 in Pembroke.
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According to a deposition about 75 minutes after the crash, Shao told police he was driving about 65-66 mph when he tried to press the gas pedal — but it wouldn’t work. He said he realized a water bottle was obstructing the pedal and prevented him from stopping.
Shao told police he decided to reach down and remove the water bottle, turning the wheel to the right to avoid the car in front of him. He said that’s when he lost control and the bus went off the road and tipped onto its side. Shao said he was ejected from the bus and lost consciousness, and woke up lying in the pavement.
Police said Shao, now 56, of New York City was taken into custody Feb. 11 in Putnam Valley, about 47 miles north of Flushing, Queens, where he lives. He was arraigned two days later in Genesee County Court after being indicted by a grand jury on five counts of criminally negligent homicide and five counts of manslaughter. He was held in the Genesee County Jail on $100,000 bail.
Bin Shao, a bus driver from New York City, is charged with five counts of criminally negligent homicide and five counts of manslaughter in connection to the Aug. 22, 2025 bus crash on Interstate 90 in Pembroke. (Photo courtesy of MobilePatrol)
Shao returned to court Monday. Judge Melissa Lightcap Cianfrini raised bail to $200,000 cash, siding with prosecutors who said Shao could be a flight risk.
“The charges are serious, and I think the risk of flight for this defendant is fairly great, because he lives in a community that is far away in New York City, it’s a primarily Chinese-speaking community and the state police have had some difficulty locating him there,” District Attorney Kevin Finnell said. “He spent time in China recently — up to six months, I’m told — so he has contacts out of the country, and we feel that, based upon that, the risk of flight is significant.”
Finnell said Shao’s next court appearance is scheduled for May 11, though it may be pushed off.