The driver of a crashed tour bus that was heading from Toronto to New York City was trapped for approximately two hours as first responders worked to free him from a collision near Syracuse, N.Y.
The Adirondack Trailways-Pine Hill tour bus was carrying 52 passengers and was travelling south on Interstate 81 in Nedrow, N.Y. when it slammed into a car that had just collided into a guardrail, officials from the Onondaga County Sheriff’s Department told CTV Toronto.
Officials say the crashed car came to a rest, parked perpendicular across the left lane. The driver exited the vehicle to flag others for help. A tractor-trailer that was also heading south pulled over, but the approaching tour bus was unable to stop.
It hit the side of the car, before crashing into the parked truck at approximately 2:30 a.m., Undersheriff Warren Darby said.
The impact from the multi-vehicle collision crushed the front end of the bus, trapping the driver of the coach.
The bus driver, Kelvin Sharp Sr. of Buffalo, suffered serious injuries to his lower body. An assistant fire chief said he was conscious for approximately two hour of the extrication process. At one point, the chief said first responders considered amputation to free him.
Sharp has since been taken to nearby Upstate Medical University Hospital in Syracuse and is in stable condition.
Matt Michael, a spokesperson from the Central New York Region Red Cross, says Sharp’s family -- including his wife and son – are travelling from Buffalo and Rochester to Syracuse. Michael says one of the passengers on the bus was a cousin of the driver.
Officials say 26 of the bus’ passengers were also taken to hospital. It’s not clear if the cousin is one of those injured.
Twelve of those injured passengers were also taken to Upstate Medical University Hospital. By noon, 11 of them had been released.
The extent of their injuries is not known, but the sheriff's office told CTV Toronto that their injuries are non-life-threatening.
The 25 bus passengers who did not need treatment for injuries boarded another bus and were taken to the Syracuse Regional Transportation Centre. They were joined by 13 passengers who needed minor treatments but were released from hospital.
Some of the 38 boarded another bus for Manhattan, while others arranged their own transportation back home.
Deputies say the crashed tour bus left Toronto Wednesday evening, and was scheduled to arrive in New York City at approximately 6:30 a.m. on Thursday.
It is not yet known exactly how many of those injured are Canadians, but a representative from the American Bus Association said 31 passengers got on the bus in Toronto, nine boarded in Buffalo and 12 boarded in Rochester.
According to one official, the truck driver's decision to pull over to the side of the road, rather than slamming on his brakes and stopping in the centre of the highway, may have saved lives.
"The (bus) driver definitely would have been killed and possibly two or three more people in the front would have been killed," Nedrow Volunteer Fire Department Assistant Chief Richard Nemier said Thursday.
Police say the driver of the vehicle, Robert Tarbell of Nedrow, 36, has been charged with driving while intoxicated. He was being held in the Onondaga County Jail on $15,000 bail.
The southbound lanes of I-81 were temporarily closed as officials investigated the crash. They were reopened shortly before 5:30 a.m.
The tour bus is owned by Trailways, a Hurley, N.Y-based company.
With files from The Associated Press
