Police have identified five people killed in a tour bus crash in western New York on Friday.
The New York State Police said in a news release on Saturday that Shankar Kumar Jah, 65, of Madhu Bani, India. 60-year-old Pickey Chanrani from East Brunswick, New Jersey. Xie Hongzhuo, 22, Beijing, China, student at Columbia University. Zhang Xiaolan, 55, of Jersey City, New Jersey. And then Jian Mingli, 56, of Jersey City, died after crashing.
The tour bus travelling from Niagara Falls to New York City became out of control and fell sideways along an interstate park near Buffalo.
Authorities say the bus had 54 people, many of whom were kicked out of the bus and trapped underneath the bus. Dozens of residents were hospitalized due to injuries, including several children.
Erie County Medical Center, where 21 passengers were admitted due to injuries, said 14 patients remained in the hospital as of Saturday afternoon but remained stable.
Authorities are still investigating the cause of the crash, which does not include other vehicles.
But they said Friday that Bin Xiao, a 55-year-old driver from Flushing in New York, believed he was “distracted, lost control and overcorrected.” According to a news release, Xiao “had no signs of a disability and no mechanical disability on the tour bus.”
Authorities added that the bus was “full speed” during the crash but did not specify how fast the vehicle was driving.
It doesn’t appear that the driver is accused or accused of a crime.
The tour company that operates the M&Y Tour Inc. vehicles of Staten Island did not reply to requests for comment.
