2 survivors of deadly upstate bus crash sue Staten Island-based company, driver

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — Two passengers who survived a fatal tour bus crash in August outside Buffalo have filed a lawsuit against the driver, and the Staten Island company that employed him.

The bus, which officials said was owned by M&Y Tour Inc., was traveling on I-90 in Pembroke on the afternoon of Aug. 22 when the crash occurred. The 50-plus passengers on board — ranging in age from 1 to 74 — were traveling back to the city from Niagara Falls.

The plaintiffs in the case, Mohammed Rahman and Zakir Hossain, were both passengers on the bus. According to their lawsuit, the tour bus company was negligent in hiring, supervising, training and retaining the driver, which caused them both severe and permanent injuries.

According to a preliminary investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board, the crash occurred as follows:

The bus left the travel lanes onto the right shoulder, continued left across both travel lanes, entered the median, reentered the travel lanes, turned counterclockwise, rolled onto its right side, and came to rest with its front end on the shoulder and edge of the road.

Five passengers were killed and 48 passengers sustained injuries in the crash. The driver reportedly survived without serious injury.

The five people who were killed were identified as 65-year-old Shankar Kumar Jha of Madhu Bani, India; 60-year-old Pinki Changrani of East Brunswick, New Jersey; 56-year-old Jian Mingli of Jersey City, New Jersey; 55-year-old Zhang Xiaolan of Jersey City, New Jersey; and 22-year-old Xie Hongzhuo of Beijing, China.

New York State Police previously noted there were no impairments affecting the driver and no mechanical failure on the tour bus. The driver was reportedly cooperating with police investigators following the crash.

The Advance/SILive.com was unable to obtain comment from M&Y Tour, Inc. via multiple phone numbers listed for the company in public records. No attorneys for the company were listed as of Monday in court documents.

Staten Island-based company

M&Y Tour Inc. is registered with the U.S. Department of Transportation using a residential address on Hylan Boulevard in Bay Terrace, the Advance/SILive.com previously reported.

According to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, the businesses listed 20 drivers and nine vehicles.

The agency listed the company as “active” and authorized for interstate passenger transport, with a recent safety grade of “satisfactory” following a compliance review on Sept. 20, 2024.

Over the past two years, the data showed M&Y Tour, Inc. has no reported crashes.

‘There was a lot of people embracing each other’

Six emergency helicopters were dispatched to transport injured passengers from the crash as several agencies responded to the scene.

State police said most of the passengers on the bus were of Indian, Chinese and Filipino descent, and that translators were brought in to help with the emergency response.

Authorities also noted that most of the passengers were not wearing seat belts. Non-fatal injuries ranged from head injuries to broken arms and legs.

Witnesses of the aftermath described shards of glass and people’s belongings scattered across the highway.

“It was certainly heartbreaking to see,” Powell Stephens, of Medina, told WHAM-TV after he drove by the crash. “There was a lot of people embracing each other. It looked like people were breaking down.”