Tour bus driver indicted on homicide charges in deadly crash that killed 5 people

More than six months after a deadly tour bus crash in western New York killed five people, prosecutors filed charges against the bus driver.

Bin Shao of Flushing, New York, has been charged with second-degree manslaughter and criminally negligent homicide, according to court documents. Shao is accused of driving the bus — which was traveling toward New York City from the Niagara Falls — at high speed when the vehicle lost control on the New York Thruway in Genesee County.

The 56-year-old driver from Queens was arrested on Thursday, according to New York State Police. He appeared before a judge the following day and pleaded not guilty to the charges.

“There’s no evidence of driver alcohol impairment,” said Genesee County District Attorney Kevin Finnell said Friday at a news conference. “The charges stem from the decisions made and the actions taken by Mr. Shao as the operator of the bus on the New York State Thruway in Pembroke.”

When asked by a reporter if he can discuss any details about what Shao allegedly did wrong, Finnell said: “I can’t.”

The M&Y Tour Inc. bus was carrying 54 people, many of Indian, Chinese and Filipino descent, according to police.

The victims were identified as Shankar Kumar Jha, 65, of India; Pinki Changrani, 60, of East Brunswick, New Jersey; Xie Hongzhuo, a 22-year-old Columbia University student from Beijing; Zhang Xiaolan, 55, and Jian Mingli, 56. Both Xiolan and Mingli were from Jersey City.

Dozens of people were also injured in the crash. Police said at the time the cause of the crash was under investigation, but a mechanical failure and operator impairment had been ruled out.

Bail for Shao was set at $100,000 cash, $200,000 insured bond and $400,000.00 for a partially secured surety bond.

His next court appearance is scheduled for March 9, according to online court records.