13 dead in Bronx tour bus accident

Officials say 13 people have died in a tour bus accident in the Bronx.

A New York Fire Department spokesman said a tour bus overturned on the New England Thruway near the Westchester County line at about 5:30 a.m. Saturday.

The Worldwide Tour bus skidded on its side into a sign pole on the southbound side of Interstate 95 at Exit 14 for the Hutchinson Parkway. The sign post sheared off the top of the bus along the window line, nearly two-thirds the length of the vehicle.

The spokesman says the bus was carrying 31 to 33 passengers. He says in addition to the fatalities, six passengers were critically injured and four have been transported to hospitals.

The spokesman says 11 others sustained minor injuries.

The southbound New England Thruway and the Hutchinson Parkway are both closed. The northbound lanes of both highways are open, the New York State Department of Transportation said.