MONTREAL — The Quebec-based travel company that organized an ill-fated bus trip to New York State last week has provided an update on the condition of passengers injured when the vehicle rolled off the highway.
According to jaimonvoyage.com owner André Poulin, two of the three people who were badly hurt in the accident remain in New York hospitals but are expected to recover. One of those people, a woman, had to be airlifted away from the accident scene by helicopter.
A third victim, who suffered injuries to an arm, is also stable and returned to Quebec on Sunday, Poulin said.
Fourteen-year-old Chelssy Mercier was the only fatality. She died of a traumatic brain injury after being ejected and pinned beneath the vehicle when it overturned in the median of Interstate 87 in North Hudson, N.Y. Her body has now been repatriated, said Poulin, and the Mercier family is asking for privacy as they mourn her loss.
While the tour was operated by jaimonvoyage.com, the charter bus itself was operated by Autobus Fleur de Lys, based in Quebec City. That company issued a statement immediately following the accident that identified the driver of the bus as a 61-year-old veteran employee who had passed repeated driving tests.
The cause of the accident remains under investigation by authorities in New York state. According to a detailed statement issued late Friday, the New York State Police Commercial Vehicle Enforcement Team and Collision Reconstruction Unit took measurements to help reconstruct the accident, and the 2008 bus was then impounded and taken to a police facility in Ray Brook, N.Y.
When asked on Monday about what might have prompted the bus to suddenly veer out of the lane and roll into the median, Poulin said that “we all have our hypotheses,” but it will be necessary to wait until investigators complete their work. That process could take several weeks.
In the meantime, Poulin said, the more than 50 passengers who were travelling on the bus have been provided with contact information for psychological counselling services. All of them have been offered full refunds.
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