Bus overturns near Rochester, New York, sending dozens to hospitals
A bus with dozens of passengers aboard rolled over on a highway in upstate New York on Thursday morning, critically injuring one person and sending over two dozen to hospitals, authorities said. No other vehicles were involved.
"This was a very significant accident," Chief Deputy Michael Fowler of the Monroe County Sheriff's Office told reporters Thursday afternoon. "The bus left the roadway, reentered the roadway, eventually flipped, ended up on its side, where it slid probably approximately 200 yards before it came to a stop on its side."
The driver was issued four tickets for the incident — fatigued driving, unreasonable speed, unsafe lane changes and not wearing a seat belt — Fowler said. Investigators believe the bus was going over 70 mph at the time of the accident.
"The driver was actually ejected through the front windshield, but the injuries were not significant," Fowler said.
Twenty-eight people were sent to area hospitals, some with minor injuries, after the bus overturned on Interstate 490 west of Rochester around 7 a.m., according to officials.
"Deputies arriving on the scene found people that were trapped on the tour bus that had flipped on 490," Monroe County Sheriff Todd Baxter told reporters at the scene. First responders "also found multiple people walking alongside 490 in a state of confusion that had been passengers on the bus," he said.
The bus had left New York City around midnight and was making stops on the way to Niagara Falls, officials said.
An investigation into the rollover was ongoing, Fowler said.
The driver was cooperating with investigators, and there was no indication drugs or alcohol were involved, authorities said.
Tribal Sun, the company in Massachusetts identified as the operator of the bus, did not immediately comment.
"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.