Following the 490 tour bus crash, a first responder responds to the chaotic scene

Irondequoit, New York – In Chili, a tour bus crashed Thursday along a section of Interstate 490, killing one passenger and sending 28 others to the hospital.

The bus driver received tickets for a number of infractions, including exhaustion and speeding. The Monroe County Sheriff’s Office is still investigating the crash itself.

Salomon Valdez, a paramedic with Mercy Flight Western New York, said in Irondequoit’s I-Square on Friday, “Oh, it was crazy.”

When hundreds of first responders responded to the call on Thursday, including Valdez, they discovered crash victims wandering the road with the bus on its side.

“It was just like, all right, (my) paramedic mode kicked in,” said the man. “There is a lot of adrenaline and a lot of emotions going on, and people are scared, confused, and disoriented.”

In fact, Valdez was on the site by chance. He was going to be late to work.

He stated, “I said I would have been in front of the accident and would never even have seen it if I had left like I normally would have.” “That couple of minutes just put me just a few minutes behind the bus.”

“I just started triaging people, talking to people, trying to calm them,” he stated. “A few other onlookers assisted me in removing individuals from the opposite side of the safety hatch.”

Was it fate that he left so late?

He remarked, “Well, it kind of makes you think.”

Valdez returned the focus of the interview to his fellow first responders’ incredible lift. He described it as just remarkable.

“When I saw the sheriff, state troopers, all the local EMS, companies, fire companies, and fire departments, it made me proud to be a part of this community,” he stated. “They all simply arrive and start working.”

New York State Police, Gates Police Department, Ogden Police Department, Genesee County Sheriff’s Office, Chili Fire Department, Churchville Fire Department, Monroe County Fire Bureau, Gates Fire District, North Greece Fire District, Barnard Fire District, Ridge Road Fire Department, Spencerport Fire District, Henrietta Fire District, Bergen Fire Department, CHS Mobile Integrated Healthcare, Monroe Ambulance, Gates Volunteer Ambulance Service, AMR, Hamlin Volunteer Ambulance, Honeoye Falls-Mendon Volunteer Ambulance, Irondequoit Ambulance, Penfield Volunteer Emergency Ambulance, and Mercy Flight were among the first responders who united to assist at the crash site, according to a statement released by the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office on Friday.