WEEDSPORT – A bus trip bound for Niagara Falls that originated in the Poughkeepsie area crashed on the Thruway I-90, on Saturday, August 14, sending more than 50 passengers, including the driver, to hospitals in central New York. The bus was traveling westbound, approximately 25 miles west of Syracuse when the 12:30 p.m. accident occurred.
The cause of the massive incident remains under investigation.
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 a.m. was reportedly the last trip of the summer that Urrego had planned, according to an advertisement posted by Urrego on social media.
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.
