More than 50 people including children are injured when bus bound for Niagara Falls crashes and rolls over on New York highway
More than 50 people, including several children, have been injured after a bus bound for Niagara Falls crashed and rolled over on a New York highway.
The crash unfolded around midday Saturday when the tour bus was driving passengers from Poughkeepsie, in the Hudson Valley area of New York state, to the popular tourist attraction.
The bus was traveling along the New York State Thruway when it ran off the road and rolled over, landing on its side in the grass by the westbound side near Weedsport, a village about 25 miles west of Syracuse.
All 57 people on board, including the driver, were taken to hospitals for injuries ranging from minor to serious, authorities said.
The extent of the injuries is not clear but officials told WSYR none of the victims' conditions were life-threatening.
More than 50 people, including several children, have been injured after a bus bound for Niagara Falls crashed and rolled over on a New York highway
Photos released by police from the scene show papers and other items strewn around the grass alongside the white bus as it rested on its side on the road shoulder
Weedsport Fire Chief David James said emergency responders were called to the scene of the crash at 12.41pm to find passengers trying to pull themselves from the wreckage, reported Syracuse.com.
Photos released by police from the scene show papers and other items strewn around the grass alongside the white bus as it rested on its side on the road shoulder.
Around 27 patients, including the driver, were taken to Auburn Community Hospital where their conditions were being assessed, said hospital spokesperson Matthew Chadderdon.
Three people were transferred to Upstate University Hospital in Syracuse.
Upstate is the area's top-level trauma center and is especially equipped to handle serious injuries.
In total, the hospital received 25 patients who had been involved in the wreck, spokesperson Darryl Geddes said.
He said he couldn't immediately provide information on their conditions or ages.
The son of one of the people on board the bus described it as a 'miracle' that his mother survived.
The crash unfolded around midday Saturday when the tour bus was driving passengers from Poughkeepsie, in the Hudson Valley area of New York state, to the popular tourist attraction. Pictured the aftermath of the crash
The bus was traveling along the New York State Thruway (pictured above) when it ran off the road and rolled over, landing on its side in the grass by the westbound side near Weedsport, a village about 25 miles west of Syracuse
Juan Gil-Urrego told WSYR-TV his mom Ximena Urrego had arranged the trip to Niagara Falls - one of many she has planned to various destinations as affordable excursions for residents.
He said the bus set off from Poughkeepsie around 6 am that morning and that it was one of the last trips Urrego had scheduled for the summer.
Among the passengers was some children including one who is possibly just a month old, he said.
Gil-Urrego said his mother was taken to a hospital with glass in her eye and needed to undergo back surgery.
But, he said he is just thankful she is alive, adding that another relative survived a bus crash in the past.
An aerial view of Niagara Falls where the bus was headed. All 57 people on board, including the driver, were taken to hospitals for injuries ranging from minor to serious
'It's a miracle. This time around, it hits me twice as hard to know that it happened to both of them already, and both of them made it,' he said.
Authorities said it is not yet clear what caused the crash and led the bus to veer off the road, with the investigation still ongoing.
It also wasn't immediately clear what company or agency owned the bus.
One westbound lane of the highway was closed until early evening while accident reconstruction was completed.
This caused traffic to be backed up for miles, before all lanes of the highway were reopened six hours after the crash.