The driver of a tour bus that crashed on the I-90 after leaving Niagara Falls in August, killing five people, has been arrested, according to New York State Police.
Bin Shao, 56, of Queens, was charged Wednesday with five counts each of second-degree manslaughter and criminally negligent homicide, State Police officials announced at a news conference in Batavia on Friday.
Genesee County District Attorney Kevin T. Finnell told reporters that Shao did not show any signs of drug or alcohol impairment. He declined to go into detail on the specific actions by Shao that led to his charges.
After the crash, State Police Major Andre J. Ray had said the driver was distracted, but he did not say how.
At a press conference in August, state police said a preliminary investigation ruled out mechanical failure or driver impairment but did say Shao apparently became distracted, lost control and overcorrected before the bus went into the right shoulder and flipped over on the eastbound side of the I-90 about 25 miles east of Buffalo.
At that time, Ray also didn’t say how the driver became distracted.
“An absolute tragedy took place,” Ray said. “And first and foremost, our thoughts, prayers and hearts go out to those involved, their friends and their families.”
At about 12:20 p.m. on Aug. 22, Shao lost control of the 2005 Van Hool Bus and Coach tour bus while traveling east on the I-90 in Pembroke. The bus went into the median, the driver overcorrected and the bus ended up on its side in a ditch on the south side of the highway, troopers said.
Five passengers died at the scene, while 49 other passengers were injured and brought to six different Rochester and Buffalo area hospitals. Nearly everyone on the bus suffered some injury, from bruises and cuts to more serious injuries. More than 300 firefighters, police, ambulance crews and others responded to the scene.
Those who died in the crash were:
• Shankar Kumar Jha, 65, of Madhu Bani, India
• Pinki Changrani, 60 of East Brunswick, NJ
• Xie Hongzhuo, 22, of Beijing, China, and a Columbia University Student
• Zhang Xiaolan, 55, of Jersey City, NJ
• Jian Mingli, 56, of Jersey City, NJ
The bus, owned by M&Y Tour Inc. of Staten Island. M&Y Tour has a “satisfactory” safety rating and no record of accidents or fatalities over the past two years, according to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. Officials inspected the company’s buses and drivers 60 times over the past two years, the agency said.
Shao was arraigned on Friday on a sealed indictment. He is being held in the Genesee County Jail on $100,000 bail, $200,000 bond, and $400,000 partially secured bond. He has pleaded not guilty.
Second-degree manslaughter is a Class C felony that, upon conviction, can result in five to 15 years in state prison, while criminally negligent homicide is a Class E felony that can lead to between 16 months and four years in state prison.
Shao’s case has been adjourned to March 9 for a discovery conference in the Genesee County Court.