ITHACA, N.Y. — A bus carrying six people crashed into a tree on West Lake Road in the town of Dryden on Wednesday afternoon, killing one of its passengers.
Tompkins County Sheriff Derek Osborne announced Thursday afternoon that 63-year-old Kevin Welch, of Cortland, was killed in the crash. He was pronounced dead at Guthrie Cortland Hospital.
The four other passengers were taken to Cayuga Medical Center for care, while the driver was airlifted to Robert Packer Hospital for treatment.
One person had to be extricated from the vehicle when emergency personnel arrived, Osborne said.
The bus, a white Ford, was owned by First Transit out of Cortland. The cause of the collision is still under investigation, and other circumstances were not disclosed. Osborne’s announcement only states that an investigation is ongoing and does not broach whether or not charges will be filed.
Dryden firefighters, Tompkins County Sheriff’s deputies, the Freeville Fire Department, Dryden Highway Department and medical personnel from Lifenet and Guthrie Air all responded to the scene of the crash to assist.