Three New Jersey residents were among five people killed when a tour bus with more than 50 passengers crashed into a ditch while heading back to New York City on Friday.

The bus was returning from Niagara Falls when the crash occurred around 3 p.m., New York State Police spokesperson James O’Callaghan said at a news conference.

Those killed in the crash were:

  • Pinki Changrani, 60, of East Brunswick
  • Zhang Xiaolan, 55, of Jersey City
  • Jian Mingli, 56, of Jersey City
  • Xie Hongzhuo, 22, a native of Beijing, China, and a Columbia University student in New York City
  • Shankar Kumar Jha, 65, of Madhu Bani, India

According to state police, the 2005 Van Wool Bus and Coach tour bus was traveling east on Interstate 90 from Niagara Falls to New York City when it left the road and traveled into the median. Police said the driver abruptly corrected, causing the bus to overturn and roll down an embankment.

Multiple people were ejected from the bus, and others were trapped, police said.

The bus was owned by M&Y Tour Inc. out of Staten Island.

M&Y Tour has a “satisfactory” safety rating and no record of accidents or fatalities over the past two years, according to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. Officials inspected the company’s buses and drivers 60 times over the past two years, the agency said.

Injured passengers were taken to Erie County Medical Center, Strong Memorial Hospital, Millard Fillmore Suburban and UMMR in Batavia. Mercy Flight and numerous EMS and first responders assisted at the scene.

Police said a total of 54 people were on the bus. The driver showed no signs of impairment, and the tour bus had no mechanical failure.

At a news conference, Trooper James O’Callaghan said it appeared most people on the bus were not wearing seat belts.

In response to another bus crash in New York in 2023, a state law requires seat belt use on charter buses built on or after Nov. 28, 2016.

The crash remains under investigation.

Anyone who may have witnessed the incident or has dash cam footage is asked to contact state police at SP Batavia at 585-344-6200.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.