Rescue personnel work the scene of a tour bus that crashed and rolled over on the New York State Thruway near Pembroke, NY, on Aug. 22, 2025. LIBBY MARCH / AP
A tour bus returning to New York City from Niagara Falls with 52 people onboard crashed and rolled Friday, August 22, on an interstate highway, killing and injuring multiple tourists, police said. The bus apparently lost control on Interstate 90 near Pembroke, about 25 miles (40 kilometers) east of Buffalo. People inside were ejected as the windows shattered. "At this time we have multiple fatalities, multiple entrapments and multiple injuries," said Trooper James O'Callaghan, a spokesperson for the New York State Police, adding that children were on board.
The bus was traveling eastbound when it went into the median and ended up in a ditch on the right side of the road, O'Callaghan said. Most passengers were of Indian, Chinese and Filipino ethnicity, he said. "The driver is alive and well. We're working with him. We believe we have a good idea of what happened, why the bus lost control," O'Callaghan said without elaborating.
The Mercy Flight medical transport service said its three helicopters and three more from other services transported people from the crash site. Hospitals in the region said they evaluated or treated more than 40 people. Injuries ranged from head trauma to broken arms and legs.
