Tour bus crash causes several deaths and injuries on the New York Thruway

A tour bus returning to New York City from Niagara Falls crashed Friday, killing and injuring multiple people, police said.

It was not immediately clear what caused the crash on I-90 near Pembroke, which is about 25 miles (40 kilometers) east of Buffalo.

Photos taken by bystanders at the scene showed a bus rolled over on its side, just off the highway.

“At this time, we have multiple fatalities, multiple entrapments and multiple injuries,” said Trooper James O’Callahan, a spokesperson for the New York State Police.

Several ambulances and medical helicopters transported patients from the crash.

“There was glass all over the road and people’s stuff all over the road,” Powell Stephens of Medina told The Buffalo News after he drove by the crash. “Windows were all shattered.”

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said on X that she was briefed on “the tragic tour bus accident” and that her office was working with police and local officials.

The Mercy Flight air medical transport service said its three helicopters were transporting people from the crash site to area hospitals.

There was no official word on how many people were injured, though Erie County Medical Center, a Buffalo hospital known as ECMC, said it had at least eight patients by 2:10 p.m.

Three other helicopters from other services were being called to the scene, as well as ambulances from multiple area agencies, Mercy Flight president Margaret Ferrentino said.

“It’s a very active scene,” Ferrentino said. “At this time we’re praying for the victims.”

The New York State Thruway Authority said a lengthy stretch of the roadway had been shut down in both directions and drivers were being urged to avoid the area.