Police release names of 5 killed in tour bus crash near Buffalo, New York

NEW YORK - The New York State Police on Aug 23 released the names of the five passengers who were killed after a tour bus travelling to New York City from Niagara Falls, New York, crashed and flipped over on a highway outside Buffalo on the afternoon of Aug 22.

The deceased, whose ages ranged from 22 to 65, include a person from Madhubani, India, three people from New Jersey, and a Chinese student at Columbia University, according to police.

The release of the names comes roughly 24 hours after

the deadly crash

on the New York State Thruway, which sent the tour bus toppling into a ditch, ejecting many of its passengers and pinning some beneath the vehicle, officials said.

The people who died in the crash were: Shankar Kumar Jha, 65, of Madhubani, India; Pinki Changrani, 60, of East Brunswick, New Jersey; Zhang Xiaolan, 55, and Jian Mingli, 56, of Jersey City, New Jersey, and Xie Hongzhuo, 22, of Beijing.

The crash took place around 12.30pm near Pembroke, New York, roughly 50km east of Buffalo, according to authorities. The bus, which was carrying 54 people, appeared to drive into the median, correct course and then overturn, rolling into the embankment on the side of the road.

The cause was under investigation and did not appear to involve a mechanical failure or the impairment of the driver, Major Andre J. Ray of the state police said at a news conference on Aug 22.

Investigators believe the driver, identified as Bin Shao, 55, of Flushing, Queens, had become distracted and lost control of the vehicle, authorities said.

The bus was the only vehicle involved in the crash.

The collision ejected many passengers from the bus, while others were trapped underneath.

On Aug 22, police said it appeared that many passengers had not been wearing seat belts at the time. NYTIMES