A double-decker Megabus, on its way to Toronto from Philadelphia, slammed into a low clearance railroad bridge on the Onondaga Lane Parkway in Salina, N.Y., around 2:30 a.m. Saturday morning.
Four passengers, including one Temple University student, were killed, with 24 others hospitalized for minor and some critical injuries.
According to the Division of Public Safety, Lee Veeraraghavan, a 27-year-old graduate student in the School of Arts and Sciences music program, was among the 27 passengers on the bus. Veeraraghavan survived and will receive support services upon return to Penn.
As of Sunday evening, DPS spokeswoman Stef Cella could not comment on Veeraraghavan’s current condition.
The bus left Philadelphia at 10 p.m. Friday and was due to stop in Buffalo and Syracuse before its final destination — Toronto.
“The bus had strayed from its prescribed route at the time of the crash,” said Don Carmichael, senior vice president of Coach USA, which operates Megabus.
Despite sustaining head trauma, the driver of the bus is now subject to an ongoing investigation by state and federal authorities, according to Carmichael.
The bus was cleared from the Onondoga Lane Parkway soon after the incident. The Megabus Philadelphia-Toronto route is operating on its normal schedule.
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