PEMBROKE, N.Y. (WKBW) — The driver of the tour bus involved in the deadly crash on I-90 in Pembroke in August 2025 is now facing charges.
A grand jury indictment was unsealed on Friday in Genesee County Court, and 56-year-old Bin Shao of Flushing, NY, has been charged with five counts of second-degree manslaughter and five counts of criminally negligent homicide. Shao pleaded not guilty to all charges and bail was set at $100,000.
District Attorney Kevin T. Finnell said there is no evidence that Shao was impaired by drugs or alcohol, and the charges stem "from the decisions made and the actions taken by Mr. Shao as he operated the bus." The case has been adjourned to March 9 for a discovery conference in Genesee County Court.
The crash occurred just before 12:30 p.m. on August 22, 2025, and the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) released its preliminary report on the crash on September 16, 2025.
The NTSB said the bus left the travel lanes onto the right shoulder, continued left across both travel lanes, entered the median, reentered the travel lanes, turned counterclockwise, rolled onto its right side, and came to rest with its front end on the shoulder and edge of the road.
There were a total of 54 people on the bus, one driver and 53 passengers. Five passengers were killed. The driver and 48 passengers sustained injuries ranging from minor to serious.
The five people who were killed were identified as 65-year-old Shankar Kumar Jha of Madhu Bani, India, 60-year-old Pinki Changrani of East Brunswick, New Jersey, 56-year-old Jian Mingli of Jersey City, New Jersey, 55-year-old Zhang Xiaolan of Jersey City, New Jersey and 22-year-old Xie Hongzhuo of Beijing, China.
The bus, owned by M&Y Tour Inc. out of Staten Island, was chartered from New York City and was returning from Niagara Falls.
MORE: Read the full preliminary report here
WATCH: Drone video shows large emergency response to tour bus crash
A passenger on the tour bus told 7 News reporter Derek Heid that he saw the driver take his eyes off the road moments before the bus overturned. Shoaib, who was traveling with his wife and three children from New Jersey, said he watched from his seat at the front of the bus as the driver for M&Y Tour Inc. turned around to reach for a loose water bottle before losing control.
“There was a small water bottle far behind him on the floor of the bus rolling. And he wanted to grab it from his driving position, not slowing down or anything,” he said. “He was trying to grab it where his head is not on the windshield anymore, looking back to the water bottle. That’s when he lost control and trying to overcorrect."
Shoaib spoke with 7 News on August 29 outside Oishei Children's Hospital, where his six-year-old daughter Elsa was undergoing surgery.
WATCH: Passenger: Driver was reaching for water bottle on floor moments before deadly tour bus crash in Pembroke
In late September 2025, Mohammed Rahman and Zakir Hossain, two passengers who were on the bus, filed a lawsuit against Shao and M&Y Tour Inc. According to the lawsuit, the tour bus company is accused of being negligent in hiring, supervising, training and retaining the driver, resulting in severe and permanent injuries for both Rahman and Hossain.
WATCH: Survivors of deadly tour bus crash on I-90 in Pembroke file lawsuit against driver and tour company
