New York bus crash victims identified: Shankar Jha from India among 5 killed

New York Police released the identity of the five victims killed in the tour bus crash that took place near Exit 48A east on I-90 around 12:40 pm Friday. The victims are Xie Hongzhuo, 22, of Beijing, China; Zhang Xiaolan, 55, of Jersey City; Jian Mingli, 56, also of Jersey City; Pinki Changrani, 60, of East Brunswick, New Jersey; and Shankar Kumar Jha, 65, India, were killed in the Friday incident, state police said. The driver for the Staten Island bus company M & Y Tour Inc. was taking 54 people from Niagara Falls to New York City when he got distracted, causing the vehicle to swerve and roll over in a ditch, New York State Police said. But the cause of the accident is still under investigation and no charges have been filed. The bus driver has been cooperative with the investigation, police said. “The cause of the collision is still under investigation. However, mechanical failure as well as operator impairment have been ruled out at this time,” State Police Major Andre Ray said. “The operator has been cooperative and with the investigation still underway. No charges have been filed at this point.”According to reports, the company had a “satisfactory” safety rating from the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration in 2024, despite failing nine inspections out of 43 in the two prior years. Almost all of the company’s drivers passed background checks, the records show. M & Y Tour was fined $15,000 in 2019 by the state Department of Environmental Conservation for generating hazardous waste at a Brooklyn property without properly storing or managing it, according to a report. New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said she had been briefed on “the tragic tour bus accident” on the Thruway. “My team is coordinating closely with @nyspolice and local officials who are working to rescue and provide assistance to everyone involved,” she wrote on X.