Tour bus crash in upstate NY leaves 28 injured, one critically

Twenty-eight people were injured – one with serious injuries – in a crash involving a tour bus on Interstate 490 in the town of Chili, near Rochester, Thursday morning.

A portion of the highway’s westbound lanes were expected to remain closed until at least Thursday afternoon, as Monroe County sheriff’s deputies investigate at the scene. The eastbound lanes were closed for more than two hours after the bus crash, but reopened around 9:45 a.m.

The crash occurred around 7:10 a.m. when a westbound tour bus carrying 27 adults and one child overturned on the highway near Union Street, said Monroe County Sheriff Todd Baxter a a mid-morning news conference at the scene. Deputies have not yet determined a specific cause of the crash.

The first deputies at the scene found the bus on its side, rotated 180 degrees, with two people still inside and numerous injured passengers walking along the highway “in a state of confusion,” he said.

In all, 28 people including the bus driver were taken to four hospitals within Monroe County – Strong Memorial Hospital, Rochester General Hospital and Highland Hospital all in Rochester, and Unity Hospital in Greece, he said.

One passenger was seriously wounded in the crash, Baxter said. That patient, whose name was not released, was removed from the bus on scene by first responders.

More than 100 first responders were called to the scene – with 18 ambulances from across Monroe and Genesee counties, authorities said during the news conference. New York State Police also assisted at the scene.

Chief Deputy Michael Fowler of the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office said that the bus was traveling west to Niagara Falls and had just stopped to drop passengers in Rochester before the crash. The bus – operated by Tribal Sun Bus Company in Massachusetts – left New York City around midnight and traveled northwest, making stops along the Thruway throughout the morning, Baxter said.

The driver was cooperative, Fowler said, adding that deputies had no reason to believe drugs or alcohol were factors in the crash. Also, no other vehicles were involved in the crash, through others were on the road when the tour bus overturned, he said.

Fowler said that due to the nature of the mass casualty crash, it will be treated as a criminal investigation, not because any criminal action is believed to have occurred, but to ensure that the crash involving a commercial vehicle and more than two dozen passengers was thoroughly investigated.

NY Gov. Kathy Hochul weighs in

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul Thursday morning issued a statement following the tour bus crash.

“Earlier this morning, a large bus with multiple passengers rolled over on the I-490 west of the City of Rochester. State Police and Department of Transportation are on scene coordinating with local first responders on rescue operations. To allow first responders to do their jobs, the I-490 is closed in both directions between exits 4 and 3, and drivers are encouraged to find alternate routes. I join the people of New York in praying for the well-being of all involved in this serious incident and am deeply grateful for the heroic efforts of our first responders.”

This article originally appeared on Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: Bus crash in Rochester NY on I-490 leaves 28 injured, one critically