5 victims of deadly upstate NY bus crash identified — including Columbia student, several NJ residents

The five people who were killed in a tour bus crash in western New York Friday included a Columbia University student from China, three New Jersey residents and a person from India, according to authorities.

Xie Hongzhuo, 22, of Beijing, China; Zhang Xiaolan, 55, of Jersey City; Jian Mingli, 56, also of Jersey City; Pinki Changrani, 60, of East Brunswick, New Jersey; and Shankar Kumar Jha, 65, of Madhu Bani, India, were killed.

The crash happened near Exit 48A east on I-90 around 12:40 p.m.

The driver for the Staten Island bus company M & Y Tour Inc. was taking 54 passengers from Niagara Falls to New York City when he got distracted, swerved, and rolled over in a ditch, New York State Police said.