Tour bus driver charged with manslaughter in New York crash

BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) — The driver in an August tour bus crash on Interstate 90 in New York that killed five people and injured dozens more has been charged with manslaughter, state police and the Genesee County District Attorney’s Office said Friday. Bin Shao, 56, was charged with five counts of second-degree manslaughter and five counts of criminally negligent homicide. He was arrested on Wednesday, Feb. 11 and arraigned in Genesee County Court on Friday, Feb. 13, where he pleaded not guilty. Shao was driving a bus carrying more than 50 people for M&Y Tour Inc. from Niagara Falls to New York City when authorities said he lost control, went into the median, and flipped over into a ditch on the side of the road near Exit 48A on I-90. On top of the five people who were killed, dozens more, ranging from 1 to 74 years old, were injured. New York State Police said after the crash that everyone on the bus had some level of injury. More than 40 people were evaluated by regional hospitals, with injuries ranging from broken arms and legs to head trauma. Many of the nationalities among those injured were Indian, Chinese, and Filipino. Prosecutors reiterated that there is no evidence that drugs or alcohol played a role in the accident, but rather "decisions made and actions taken" by Shao in the accident, Genesee County District Attorney Kevin Finnell said at a Friday news conference. You can view a full replay of Friday's news conference in the video player below. The manslaughter charges could carry a sentence of up to five to 15 years in prison if Shao is convicted. The case will be back in court on March 9.