Multiple deaths reported following tour bus crash in upstate NY

Brian Niemietz, New York Daily News on Aug 22, 2025

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NEW YORK — Multiple people have died and dozens more were injured following a tour bus crash on I-90 roughly 30 miles northeast of Buffalo.

The crash occurred Friday around 12:40 p.m. near Pembroke in Genesee County, as the bus was traveling to eastboundback New York City from Niagara Falls.

New York State Police said there were more than 50 passengers onboard the bus when it rolled over after hitting a median and wound up in a ditch on the side of the road.

Police confirmed “several” fatalities, including at least one child, and said everyone onboard the bus had suffered some level of injury.

Most of the passengers were not wearing their seatbelts and many had been ejected from the vehicle, police said. Multiple people, including children, remained trapped inside the bus as of Friday afternoon.

The Erie County Medical Center, a level 1 adult trauma center, reported receiving 16 patients from the scene of the crash, according to CBS News. A nonprofit air medical transport unit had delivered four patients to hospitals for treatment, and said it would be taking at least two more.

“I’ve been briefed on the tragic tour bus accident on the @NYSThruway,” Gov. Kathy Hochul said in a statement on social media. “My team is coordinating closely with @nyspolice and local officials who are working to rescue and provide assistance to everyone involved.”

Erie County Executive Mark Polocaez confirmed that a “serious mass casualty bus accident” occurred near his county’s border with Genesee County. He said the New York State Thruway was closed between Exit 48A and Exit 49 where rescue workers were tending to the wreck. State police warned of “heavy” I-90 traffic delays.

As of late Friday afternoon, it was not clear what caused the bus to overturn. New York State Trooper James O’Callaghan said the driver appeared to have “overcorrected” after going into the median for unknown reasons.

The bus was traveling at full speed at the time of the crash, but did not hit any other vehicles.

O’Callaghan described a “very volatile” scene with rescue workers moving in all directions. He told reporters than many of the passengers on the bus were tourists who speak Indian, Filipino and Chinese. Translators had been brought in to assist authorities.

The tour company that operates the bus was said to be cooperating with investigators.

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