A tour bus carrying more than two dozen passengers overturned on a major New York highway, critically injuring one person and sending all others aboard to the hospital.
The 28-passenger bus was headed to Niagara Falls when it rolled over on Interstate 490 just west of Rochester around 7 am on Thursday.
Victims of the accident were found by first responders in a dazed state and staggered across the highway as two passengers had to be pulled from the wreckage, Monroe County Sheriff Todd Baxter said.
‘Deputies arriving on the scene found people that were trapped on the tour bus that had flipped on 490,’ Baxter said at the scene.
Police ‘also found multiple people walking alongside 490 in a state of confusion that had been passengers on the bus,’ he added.
No other vehicles were involved in the crash.
The bus reportedly left New York City around midnight, making a lone stop in Rochester just before the horrifying accident took place.
The cause of the overturn was not immediately clear, however the crash is being investigated as a criminal matter.
So far, there have been no indication of drugs or alcohol use and the driver is said to be fully cooperating with authorities, investigators said.
The driver, who works for Tribal Sun, a Massachusetts-based company identified as the operator of the bus, has not yet been identified.
The Westbound lanes of the highway remained closed as the investigation continued before eventually reopening around 9:45 am.
‘This will be a lengthy investigation,’ Chief Deputy Michael Fowler said.
More than 100 first responders and 18 ambulances responded to the early morning scene, the New York Post reported.
‘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,’ Gov. Kathy Hochul said in a statement on the crash.
