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 and injuring dozens of others, avoided any further jail time after his sentencing Wednesday.
Bin Shao, now 56, of New York City told investigators he lost control of the bus Aug. 22, 2025 on Interstate 90 in Pembroke when he reached over to move a water bottle that had rolled under the brake pedal. The bus, carrying 54 people from Niagara Falls to New York City, went off the road and landed on its side. Five passengers were killed, while Shao and 48 others were injured.
BACKGROUND: Bus driver blamed water bottle for fatal tour bus on NYS Thruway, deposition says | Witnesses recount fatal Thruway tour bus crash one year later
Shao pleaded guilty July 6 to five counts of criminally negligent homicide. Judge Melissa Lightcap Cianfrini sentenced him Wednesday to six months in jail. Since Shao has already served nearly seven months in jail, he will be released from custody.
The sentence also included five years of probation and requires Shao to serve 500 hours of community service.
This is a developing story.