Tour bus rolls over on upstate New York highway, killing multiple people, police say

Multiple people are dead after a tour bus with more than 50 passengers lost control and rolled over on a major highway in upstate New York on Friday, state police said. 

The bus was traveling back to New York City from Niagara Falls, police said. It was going eastbound on the New York State Thruway near Pembroke, around 30 miles northeast of Buffalo and 40 miles southeast of Niagara Falls.

"For unknown reasons, the vehicle lost control, went into the median, over-corrected and ended up in the ditch" on the side of the road, state Trooper James O'Callaghan said. The bus was going full speed, but did not hit any other vehicle, he said.

There were "multiple fatalities, multiple entrapments and multiple injuries," O'Callaghan said. At least one child was believed to be among the fatalities, he said.

The bus was carrying 52 people, including the driver, according to a passenger manifest provided to police by the bus company. The total number of deaths and injuries was still being determined, O'Callaghan said.

First responders work to rescue victims at the scene of a tour bus that crashed and rolled over on the New York State Thruway near Pembroke, New York, on Friday, Aug. 22, 2025. Libby March / AP

The Erie County Medical Center, a level 1 adult trauma center, said it had received 16 patients from the crash scene.

Mercy Flight, a nonprofit emergency air medical transport provider, said it had taken four patients by air to hospitals and would be transporting at least two more. 

The nationalities of most of the people on the bus were Indian, Chinese and Philippine, O'Callaghan said.

The New York State Thruway was closed in both directions between exits 48A and 49 due to the crash.

"Please avoid all local roads near the scene as traffic is being diverted off of the Thruway (Interstate 90) in both directions," Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz said on social media.

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said she had been briefed on "the tragic tour bus accident" on the thruway. 

"My team is coordinating closely with @nyspolice and local officials who are working to rescue and provide assistance to everyone involved," she wrote on X.