The tour bus belonged to a company called Z&D Tour, Trooper Limani said.

Reached by phone, Chen Dan Yu, who said he was the owner of Z&D, said the bus had been carrying 56 passengers — one passenger short of a full bus — and was headed from New York City to multiple destinations in Ohio.

Ohio Coach manages ticket sales for the route. Mr. Chen said Z&D had contracted with the company for over three years. Ohio Coach did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Sunday.

Mr. Chen said his bus company drives that route every day. Federal records show that Z&D has eight vehicles and 15 drivers and is based in Rockaway, N.J. Mr. Chen said he referred the federal authorities to the Chinatown ticket office on Canal Street to confirm victims with a passenger manifest.

The area around the intersection of Allen and Canal Streets in New York City, where Mr. Chen said the bus departed from, is an established hub for Chinatown buses, as they’ve come to be known.

Ticket companies offer small waiting rooms and staff to bring passengers to nearby bus stops. Passengers are usually a mix of restaurant workers and other budget travelers, which at this time of year may include students. Trooper Limani said the passengers came from different countries, and some spoke Japanese or Spanish.

While most private bus companies abide by federal and state rules, some have repeatedly violated the law but continued to operate. A number of deadly crashes have prompted calls for greater scrutiny of the industry.

In the past two years, no crashes involving Z&D buses were reported to federal regulators, according to the federal records.