Columbia University student from China among those killed in the NY bus crash. Here’s what we know

After spending the morning taking in the breathtaking sights at Niagara Falls, a group of tourists boarded a bus to return to New York City, not knowing about an hour later, their bus would be lying on its side in the ditch off the New York State Thruway.

The bus driver got distracted and lost control, officials said, overcorrecting and rolling over on the interstate, near the town of Pembroke, east of Buffalo, about 40 miles east of Niagara Falls.

Investigation determined the tour bus exited the roadway into the median then abruptly corrected causing the bus to overturn and roll off the I-90 on the south embankment, according to a New York State Police press release.

Some of the 52 passengers were ejected, others were trapped, police said, as ground and air ambulances, state and local police and other first responders rushed to the crash to help. Five people died and dozens were hurt.

Many of the passengers, some from China and the Philippines, spoke little English, so along with the ambulances and the tow trucks, translators were brought in to help police sort out what happened.

State police on Saturday released the names of the five people killed in the crash, identifying them as Shankar Kumar Jha, 65, of Madhubani, India; Pinki Changrani, 60, of East Brunswick, New Jersey; Xie Hongzhuo, 22, of Beijing, China and a Columbia University student; Zhang Xiaolan, 55, and Jian Mingli, 56, who are both residents of Jersey City, New Jersey.

“This heartbreaking loss is felt deeply across our community,” a spokesperson for Columbia University said in a statement about Hongzhuo. “We are in close contact with her family and offering them our full support.”

The driver of the bus, who survived, was identified as Bin Shao, 55, of Flushing, New York, state police said.

“We were lucky to survive, but it’s just an awful feeling,” passenger Gao Gao Yu told CNN affiliate Spectrum News Rochester.

Yu and his father had taken an M&Y Tour bus to Niagara Falls from New York City. On the way back from Buffalo, Yu noticed the bus was “starting to shake.”

“I started to scream because the bus, like in a few seconds, lost control,” Yu told the outlet.

“It started to shake, like a boat left and right. And then it flipped. We all climbed out of the windows. We were the first few to come up. I had no shoes on at first and there was glass everywhere. We had to crawl ourselves out and were some of the first out of the bus,” he added.

A few rows away sat 8-year-old Zihan Lnfu. “I saw when the cars crashed,” she told the outlet. “So many people were hurt and some of them are smaller than me, maybe 4 or 5 years old.”

Yu told Spectrum News Rochester he saw “a guy who had a really bad cut on his head” who “couldn’t move.” He also saw a family of five, including a one-year-old in a car seat, sitting behind the bus driver.

“I heard people who survived from the left side. They said they saw people getting out of the window, but their legs were stuck. So a few of them passed away right away,” Yu said.

Lfnu and Yu, who after the crash were traveling back to their homes in Indiana and Maryland, suffered only minor injuries. Both said they felt blessed and fortunate to have survived, according to the outlet.

People who saw the aftermath of the wreck told CNN affiliate WHAM glass and people’s belongings were scattered on the highway.

“It was certainly heartbreaking to see,” Powell Stephens told WHAM after he drove by the crash on his way home to Medina from Buffalo. “There was a lot of people embracing each other. It looked like people were breaking down.”

Here’s what we know.

Passengers thrown as bus rolled over

The bus was driving at full speed and did not hit any other vehicles, but lost control from the median onward, New York State Police spokesperson James O’Callaghan said.

The bus crashed just after 12:20 p.m. and was heavily damaged. Most passengers were not wearing seat belts, authorities said, and several were thrown from the bus, while some were stuck inside as first responders swarmed the scene to rescue them.

The passengers ranged in age from 1 to 74 years old and no children were killed, state police said, revising an earlier statement which said they believed there was one child fatality.

Scores of vehicles were stuck on the busy interstate when authorities shut down both eastbound and westbound lanes to respond to the crash. Both lanes were reopened later in the day.

Hospitals handled mass casualties

Four regional hospitals received patients from the accident Friday afternoon, with at least two being told to be ready for a large number of patients coming all at once.

At least 47 people were taken to the hospitals, some by air, with a range of injuries from critical to minor, from head and internal injuries and broken bones, while others were deemed medically stable.

The Mercy Flight medical transport service said its three helicopters and three more from other services transported people from the crash site, according to The Associated Press.

Erie County Medical Center in Buffalo revised the number of patients it received down to 21 and said seven were discharged Friday. Two additional patients are expected to be discharged Saturday. The remaining patients are in stable condition, including five patients who are in the hospital’s Trauma Intensive Care Unit, the hospital said.

“We were able to take care of all patients very quickly,” said Dr. Jennifer Pugh, chief of emergency medicine at the hospital.

Six victims were brought to the University of Rochester Medical Center by air and ground ambulance, said hospital spokesperson Scott Hesel. “Two are being treated for critical injuries and four are medically stable, including one pediatric patient,” he said.

Kaleida Health said in a statement to CNN affiliate Spectrum News Rochester it received 20 patients, including four adults in good condition to Buffalo General Medical Center, 11 adults and two children to Millard Fillmore Suburban Hospital and three children – one in serious condition – to Oishei Children’s Hospital. Most of the patients were in good or fair condition and at least one of those adults has been discharged, the health care network said.

Additional patients were taken to United Memorial Medical Center in Batavia, according to state police.

The Chinese Consulate General in New York told state media CCTV Friday six Chinese nationals were on the bus. The consulate did not identify victims or disclose where they were transported to.

CNN has reached out to the Chinese Consulate General for further information.

Also on Friday, the Philippine Consulate General in New York released a statement saying it is “monitoring developments” and will provide assistance to any Filipino nationals affected. The consulate urged any relatives of possible victims to reach out.

In response to questions from CNN on Saturday, Consul Anna Guerra from the Philippine Consulate General said that it is possible that those mentioned as coming from the Philippines are US citizens of Filipino descent.

A list of the passengers provided by the bus company, based in Staten Island, confirmed there were 54 people on board, including the driver and another tour company employee, police said in a statement.

On Saturday morning, state troopers, staff with Erie County services and volunteers with the American Red Cross of Western New York were at the Family Assistance Center set up to help survivors and victims at the Amherst senior center. Translators speaking several different languages including Arabic, Mandarin and Cantonese were also at the center.

The Red Cross said in a statement they provided those impacted by the crash “lodging, emotional support, spiritual care, meals, snacks and water.”

All family members have connected with the passengers and the assistance center was winding down operations, state police said Saturday.

Police probing the rollover crash

“Several witnesses observed the bus lose control, enter the median, then cross to the southern shoulder and overturn,” the state police said in a news release.

The cause of the crash is still under investigation but mechanical failure as well as operator impairment or intoxication have been ruled out, Maj. Andre J. Ray, a New York State Police troop commander, said Friday afternoon.

It’s too early to determine whether any charges will be filed, Ray said.

The National Transportation Safety Board said it is sending a go-team to the crash scene to conduct a safety investigation in coordination with state police and the state Department of Transportation Motor Carrier Compliance Bureau. Members of the team would arrive Friday and Saturday, the NTSB said.

The NTSB is conducting a safety investigation running parallel to the law enforcement investigation being led by the state police, NTSB board member Tom Chapman said at a news briefing Saturday.

“We are particularly interested in issues related to occupant protection and seat belt usage, driver performance, operations and oversight of the motor carrier,” he said.

A team of investigators specializing in human performance will look at the driver’s qualifications and whether he was fatigued or distracted, said lead investigator Scott Parent.

The bus was equipped with an engine control unit with data recorder capability, which will show what speed the bus was going and other actions the driver took before the crash, he said. Investigators are also interested in whether the bus was equipped with dash camera footage and a GPS unit which may have recorded its speed, said Parent.

They will determine the “extent to which the lack of seat belt use may have been a factor in some of the passengers being ejected,” said Chapman. A recently passed law in New York state requires seat belt usage on buses manufactured after 2016, but the tour bus involved in the crash was made in 2005, he said, adding it is not clear yet whether the law would have applied in this case.

The NTSB investigative team will be at the scene for four to six days and a preliminary report is expected to be released in 30 days, after which final reports will be completed in 12 to 24 months, said Chapman.

The tour bus was owned by M&Y Tour Inc. and based in Staten Island. It has no record of accidents or fatalities over the past two years, as well as a “satisfactory” safety rating, according to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. The company’s buses and drivers were inspected 60 times over the past two years, according to the agency.

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul described the crash as “tragic” and said first responders were “working to rescue and provide assistance to everyone involved” in a post on X.

CNN has contacted the tour bus company for comment.

This story has been updated with additional information.

CNN’s Mark Morales, Karina Tsui and Nic F. Anderson contributed to this report.

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