Westport (Essex), NY- Fatal Bus MVA 8-28-06

[Truck4 48]

Date: 8-28-06

Time: 1845hrs

Location: I-87 Northbound just south of Exit 31-Elizabethtown

Description Of Incident: Greyhound bus from NYC to Montreal overturned.

Writer: Truck4

(AP) WESTPORT, N.Y. A Greyhound bus traveling from New York City to Montreal crashed through a guard rail and landed upside down in an embankment, reportedly killing five people and trapping others inside the wreckage, police said.

State police reported five unconfirmed deaths, but they had not been confirmed by a medical examiner late Monday, said Trooper Ryan Bentley of the Westport barracks.

At least 20 passengers were lying on blankets and stretchers while receiving care from medical personnel. The back and top of the bus was crushed and one of its back wheels was turned inward.

Former Mayor Daniel Stewart and his partner, Jon Recor, were among the first people at the crash site, The Plattsburgh Press Republican reported from the scene. Steward provided a blanket to cover some of deceased passengers.

The bus, No. 4014, departed New York at 1 p.m. and made stops in Albany and Saratoga Springs before the crash, said Greyhound spokeswoman Anna Folmnsbee. There were 52 passengers and one driver onboard, she said. It was traveling northbound on Interstate 87 at about 6:45 p.m. when it overturned just before exit 31 near Elizabethtown.

The injured were taken to hospitals in Elizabethtown, Plattsburgh and Glens Falls. CVPH Medical Center in Plattsburgh was in disaster mode and called City Police Department for help with crowd control.

The highway remained closed late Monday between Exits 30 and 31 in both directions.

Greyhound has set up an information hotline for friends and families of passengers at 800-972-4583.

Westport is 110 miles north of Albany.