Dozens injured when tour bus overturns en route to Niagara Falls, shutting down parts of I-490
Nearly 30 people were injured — including one critically — when a tour bus from New York City flipped over on its way to Niagara Falls Thursday, forcing first responders to shut down part of a major high way.
The bus had just dropped off some passengers in Rochester and begun heading toward the falls with 27 adults and one child aboard when it lost control on I-490 in Chili around 7:10 a.m., Monroe County Sheriff Todd Baxter said, according to the Democrat and Chronicle.
Victims of the crash were found by first responders staggering across the highway "in a state of confusion" after the disaster — and two people had to be pulled from the wreckage, Baxter explained.
Twenty-eight people – including the bus driver – were hospitalized, with one person in critical condition.
That patient, who has not been named publicly, was among those extracted from the bus, Baxter told reporters.
More than 100 first responders and 18 ambulances responded.
"It was surreal, it was things you trained for, but something you don't expect to see in real life," Baxter said of the chaos.
The crash is being investigated as a criminal matter, thought authorities noted that does not necessarily mean there were criminal elements at play.
The bus driver — who left New York City around midnight — has been cooperating with the investigation into the accident, and there is no indication that drugs or alcohol were involved, deputies said.
The eastbound lanes of I-490 were closed for more than two hours before reopening at 9:45, the Democrat and Chronicle reported.
Part of the interstate's westbound lanes were expected to remain closed until at last Thursday afternoon.
"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.
The bus – which is operated by the Tribal Sun Bus Company – dropped out passengers in Rochester shortly before it flipped, Chief Deputy Michael Fowler of the Monroe County Sheriff's Office said.
No other vehicles were involved in the accident.
