The driver of a tour bus that crashed on the New York State Thruway last summer killing five, including three New Jersey residents, has been charged criminally, authorities said.
Bin Shao, 56, of Queens, New York, was charged with five counts apiece of manslaughter and negligent homicide, New York State Police said Friday.
Another 49 people were hurt in the crash, which took place on Aug. 22 about 30 miles east of Buffalo.
Shao was not impaired and the bus had no history of mechanical failure, New York State Police said.
She is being held at the Genesee County Jail.
Shao was driving a Van Hool tour bus owned by Staten Island, New York based-M&Y Tour when the crash occurred at 12:20 p.m between exits 48A and 49 in Pembroke, Genesee County.
The bus was headed from Niagara Falls, New York to New York City when Shao veered into the median and then abruptly corrected, officials said. The bus then overturned and rolled off the toll road onto the embankment on the right side of the highway.
The three New Jersey residents killed in the crash were:
- Pinki Changrani, 60, of East Brunswick
- Zhang Xiaolan, 55 of Jersey City
- Jian Mingli, 56 of Jersey City
The other two people killed were a 65-year-old resident of India and a 22-year-old Columbia University student from China.
