Brooklyn 9-Year-Old Among 3 Victims From NYC Killed In Horrific Bus Crash On Pennsylvania Turnpike
GREENSBURG, Pa. (CBSNewYork) -- A passenger bus that left a bus station at New York City's Canal Street was involved in a crash on the Pennsylvania Turnpike that left five people dead and dozens injured early Sunday morning.
Late Sunday night, CBS2 learned three New Yorkers -- including a 9-year-old child -- were among victims of the horrific accident.
Authorities in Pennsylvania say nine-year-old Jaremy Vazquez on Brooklyn and 35-year-old Eileen Zelis Aria of the Bronx were both passengers on the bus from Manhattan and died in the crash. Bus driver and Flushing resident Shuang Qing Feng, 58, was also killed Sunday.
It happened around 3:40 a.m. near Greensburg, Pennsylvania.
According to Pennsylvania State Police Trooper Stephen Limani, the Z & D Tours bus left Manhattan and was on its way to Cincinnati.
As the bus was going downhill, the driver was reportedly unable to make a corner and the bus went up an embankment and rolled over. The bus was then struck by a tractor trailer. Two additional tractor trailers and a passenger vehicle also crashed into the wreckage.
Limani says state police believe about 60 people were taken to local hospitals and "there definitely were some children" in the vehicles involved in the crash.
"The range that we saw here and what was transported here was from neurosurgical injuries, requiring spine surgery, as well as abdominal injuries. We have a patient that has what we call Subarachnoid bleed, which is a brain bleed," Mark Rubino, president of Forbes Hospital said.
WEB EXTRA -- NTSB Official Jennifer Homendy Addresses The Ongoing Investigation Into The Crash:
UPS confirms two of the five people killed were employees.
Daniel Kepner, 53, had five years of service and Dennis Kehler, 48, had 28 years of service according to the package delivery company.
Officials say it's too early to say if weather was a factor, but a witness who was driving in the other direction said the roads were wet from snow.
According to CBS2's Lisa Rozner, passengers included students returning to school and some visiting family and friends in New York and New Jersey.
Sunday night, another bus left Canal Street, also headed for Cincinnati. One woman told CBS2 she was supposed to be on the trip that crashed.
"I didn't make it," Ohio resident Zipporah Robertson said. "Only thing you can do is pray that I make it back home safe."
Federal records list the bus company as based out of a strip mall on Route 46 East in Rockaway, New Jersey. Records from the U.S. Department of Transportation show the company has not been involved in any crashes in the last two years.
All of the victims taken to the hospital are expected to survive. CBS2's e-mails and calls to the bus company were not returned.
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