A tractor trailer rear ended a bus killing one person in New York.
July 22, 2011- A tour bus carrying 53 passengers in New York collided with a tractor trailer early Friday morning killing one and injuring over 30. The bus was headed to New York City from Ontario, Canada for a three day tour. The crash happened at around 1:30 a.m. in Waterloo, halfway between Rochester and Syracuse killing the truck driver who was identified as a 59 year-old man from Dryden, Michigan.
No passengers were killed on the bus and witnesses say that much of that was due to the heroic efforts of a soldier who was traveling behind the bus at the time of the accident. He stopped and helped pull many of the passengers out of the burning bus.
Of the 30 passengers that were injured two are in critical condition while 15 were described as having minor or serious injuries. Thirteen sustained very little if any injuries and did not need medical attention.
Police report that the tractor trailer hit the bus from behind as the bus pulled back onto the highway after having stopped for a mechanical problem for thirty minutes. Both of the vehicles were completely destroyed by fire.
This crash follows another one that occurred on Sunday killing two and injuring 35 about 45 miles from the site of today’s crash. On Tuesday, only 30 miles away, a van full of Amish farmers was sideswiped pushing it beneath a tractor killing five of the Amish people.
