WEEDSPORT – A bus trip bound for Niagara Falls that originated in the Poughkeepsie area crashed on the NYS Thruway I-90, on Saturday, August 14, sending more than 50 passengers, including the driver, to hospitals in central New York. The crash was traveling westbound, approximately 25 miles west of Syracuse when the 12:30 p.m. accident happened.
Sources have told Mid Hudson News that the trip was organized by Ximena Urrego of Poughkeepsie. One source said that Urrego has arranged numerous tour bus trips for community members who would not normally be able to afford them. The trip that started in Poughkeepsie on Saturday around 6:00 a.m. was reportedly the last trip of the summer that Urrego had planned.
New York State Police say the driver of a tour bus from JTR Transportation based in Poughkeepsie, has been identified as 66-year-old Fermin Vasquez, of Wingdale. Vasquez is one of approximately 26 people who were transported to Upstate Hospital for treatment of various injuries. Approximately 26 other passengers of the bus were transported to Auburn Community Hospital and several others were transported to Crouse Hospital.
A preliminary investigation determined the bus was traveling westbound in the area of mile marker 305, just west of the Weedsport exit 40, when it exited the roadway for an unknown reason and rolled over onto the grassy shoulder.
There were 57 total occupants on the bus, including the driver. All occupants were transported for injuries ranging from minor to serious.
The investigation is still ongoing and State Police are asking for anyone who may have witnessed the crash, to contact Investigator Brad Holcomb, at the Waterloo barracks, at 315-539-3530 with any information.
