BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — A passenger on the tour bus that crashed last week on the New York State Thruway in Pembroke says he saw the driver take his eyes off the road moments before the bus overturned, killing five people.
Shoaib, who was traveling with his wife and three children from New Jersey, tells 7 News Reporter Derek Heid 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.
WATCH: A passenger on the tour bus that crashed in Pembroke explains what he saw moments before the deadly wreck.
“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 Friday outside Oishei Children's Hospital, where his daughter Elsa, 6, was undergoing surgery. More than three dozen other passengers were hurt, including Shoaib, his wife, and their two youngest children ages 3 and 11 months. The bus was returning to New York City from Niagara Falls.
A good Samaritan, Direk Dantzler, was driving eastbound on the I-90 from Buffalo to Rochester when the crash happened right in front of him. He immediately jumped into action to help a number of passengers, including Shoaib and Elsa.
“I walked up to the first guy, and he had his child on his lap," Dantzler said. "He was trying to hand the child to me, this little girl. He said, 'Help me, please,' crying. So, I ran back to the car to grab rags from work for cleanup. I balled the rags up and told him to apply pressure there and keep it there...I promised him that his daughter is going to be alright.”
Dantzler spoke with Shoaib by phone earlier in the week, relieved to learn all five members of the family survived.
Investigators from the National Transportation Safety Board have been in Western New York all week looking into the crash. They have not commented on a possible cause, telling reporters the NTSB's preliminary crash report will be released in about 30 days.
