Tour bus driver pleads guilty in deadly Thruway crash

The man who was behind the wheel of a tour bus that crashed on the New York State Thruway last summer, killing five people and injuring dozens of others, accepted a plea offer Monday in Genesee County Court. Police said the bus was returning from Niagara Falls to New York City with 54 people on board, including the driver, Bin Shao, when he became distracted and the bus overturned Aug. 22 on Interstate 90 in Pembroke. Shao told investigators a water bottle rolled up under the brake pedal, preventing him from using it. After reaching down to move the bottle, he lost control of the bus. Shao, now 56, of New York City pleaded guilty Monday to five counts of criminally negligent homicide. He was visibly shaken during the proceedings, at times hanging his head. "He's not well, to be honest with you," defense attorney Daniel Lynch said. "He is extraordinarily distraught over this, not only being in prison, which is far from where he was before this, but also he's carrying a tremendous amount of guilt and feeling terrible about what happened." Sentencing is scheduled for Sept. 9, with Shao facing a minimum of 15 months and a maximum of four years in state prison. "Nothing will bring back their loved ones," District Attorney Kevin Finnell said. "But this individual taking responsibility and suffering a consequence when he comes back for sentencing should bring them some closure, and I hope it does." READ MORE: https://13wham.com/news/local/tour-bu... ________________ Stay up to date with our social media: 13 WHAM on Facebook:   / 13wham   13 WHAM on Twitter:   / 13wham   13WHAM on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/13whamtv/?h... 13WHAM on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@13wham?lang=en 13 WHAM Daily Local News Digest:    • 13WHAM Local News Digest   For more information, visit https://13wham.com/ Have a news tip? Send it directly to us: Email us: [email protected] Call the Newsroom: (585) 334-8700 WHAM is a NY based station and a ABC Television affiliate owned and operated by Deerfield Media, Inc and receives certain services from an affiliation of Sinclair Broadcast Group. Sinclair Broadcast Group, Inc. is one of the largest and most diversified television broadcasting companies in the country today. #13WHAM #News #Rochester #NewYork