26 injured in Toronto to NYC tour bus crash near Syracuse

WATCH: A multiple car crash early Thursday morning on I-81 southbound forced crews to shut down all lanes on the highway.

TORONTO – Twenty-six people bound for New York City from Toronto were injured when their tour-bus collided with a wrecked car and a tractor-trailer near Syracuse Thursday morning.

The Pine Hill Trailways bus was travelling south on Interstate-81 shortly after 2:30 a.m.  when the crash occured. Roughly 52 people were on board when the bus crashed into a wrecked car that had stop in the left lane, before hitting a tractor-trailer as well.

Robert Johnson, a passenger on board the bus, told a Syracuse television station he boarded the bus in Rochester and was awake at the time of the collision.

“All I heard was a boom and my head hit the seat; I mean mad noise, it was crazy,” Johnson said. “I never experienced that in my life and I’m still scared to death by it.”

The driver of the tractor-trailer had pulled over on the highway’s shoulder to help the car’s driver when the collision occurred.

Police say 26 people and the bus driver were injured. Police said most passengers suffered lower extremity, chest, back or facial injuries during the crash.

The bus driver suffered the most serious injuries and all the victims were transported to a local hospital for treatment.

The sheriff’s department says the driver of the car has since been charged with driving while intoxicated.

Deputies said the bus left Toronto on Wednesday evening and was scheduled to arrive in New York City around 6:30 a.m. Thursday.

The Pine Hill Trailways bus was carrying 52 passengers and the uninjured were taken to a local bus station to continue their trip. The company operates daily trips between Ontario and New York City.

With files from the Associated Press