THE CANADIAN PRESS — More than 40 people were rushed to hospitals early Friday after a Canadian tour bus travelling from the southern Ontario city of Hamilton to New York City went up in flames.
Police say they've ticketed the Canadian tour bus driver because his license had been suspended in New York state.
The driver, 52-year-old Rene Bisson of Welland, Ontario, has a valid license in Canada. His New York license was suspended over two earlier tickets, one in 2003 and one in 2006.
State police say Bisson had pulled over for 30 minutes because of an emissions malfunction and was struck from the rear by the tractor-trailer after he pulled back onto the highway early Friday.
The bus, which was believed to be carrying Canadians, was rammed from behind by a tractor-trailer on Interstate 90 in central New York, killing the the truck driver, 59-year-old Timothy Hume of Dryden, Mich., and injured about 40 of the bus's 52 passengers, two seriously.
All the passengers and the driver on the Canadian bus made it out alive, said Trooper Mark O'Donnell, but there were mass casualties.
The bus was on a three-day sight-seeing tour when it caught fire after the 1:30 a.m. ET crash near Junius, southeast of Rochester.
“On witnesses accounts the tour bus had pulled over for some unknown reason and was re-entering the roadway when it was struck from behind,” he said.
An investigation into the incident is ongoing.
Farr's Coachlines Ltd. of Dunnville, Ont., which owned the bus, said company officials are at the scene.
“They're in discussions, being interviewed and talking to police,” Daniel Farr, one of the owners, said from Dunville.
Some of the passengers' relatives have been calling the company concerned, he said.
“We've been directing them as best we can,” Mr. Farr said.
The chartered bus was carrying employees of London Life, the company said in a news release.
“We are saddened to report that early this morning, a chartered bus with London Life employees, families and friends heading for New York City was involved in an accident outside Rochester, NY. A second bus with London Life staff, family and friends was not involved in the accident,” the statement said. “We understand there were injuries. All passengers involved were taken to nearby hospitals.”
The company added that it has sent a team to Rochester to help victims of the crash.
Video taken after the collision shows the charred, skeletal remains of the bus, which had been painted white with what appears to be a red horse logo. Bare wheel hubs gleamed in the early light, the rubber tires burned off.
The demolished truck, which was behind the bus, was barely recognizable as a vehicle. Rig driver Timothy Hume, 59, of Dryden, Mich., was pronounced dead at the scene, O' Donnell said.
Police said 46 bus passengers were taken to hospitals, and 30 were treated for injuries.
Two who were seriously hurt were airlifted to a hospital in Rochester. There is no immediate word on their condition.
Seven local hospitals were used for what Mr. O'Donnell called a “mass casualty incident.”
“There was a lot of confusion, it was 1:20 in the morning, the bus and the tractor trailer were fully engulfed in flames at one point, I think our EMS person on the scene wanted to make sure they got them to hospital.”
State police also said a U.S. soldier from New York's Fort Drum who came upon the scene pulled some people from the burning bus.
This crash follows one on Sunday that killed two people and injured 35 others about 70 kilometres west of Friday's collision scene. In that tour bus accident, police said it appears a tire blowout caused the bus to veer off the road and flip over.
On Tuesday, a car sideswiped a van full of Amish farmers only about 48 kilometres away, pushing the van under a tractor and killing five of the farmers.
So far this year, 32 people have been killed and 323 injured in 17 tour bus accidents in the U.S., according to Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety. That's more than in all of 2010, when there were 30 killed and 272 injured in 28 crashes.
Tour bus industry safety has drawn heightened attention since the March 12 crash of a bus returning to New York City's Chinatown after an overnight excursion to a Connecticut casino. Fifteen people were killed when the bus flipped onto its side and struck a pole, peeling off its roof.
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