Florida bus crash: Man arrested after 8 killed, at least 40 injured in Marion County, officials say
8 killed, 38 hospitalized in migrant bus crash in Marion County, Florida: officials
MARION COUNTY, Fla. – A man has been arrested for eight counts of DUI manslaughter after eight people were killed and dozens of others were injured with a migrant bus and a pickup truck collided in Marion County on Tuesday morning, officials said.
The Florida Highway Patrol said the crash happened shortly after 6:30 a.m. on SR-40, west of SW 148 Court, on the outskirts of Dunnellon.
During a news conference, troopers said a 2010 retired International school bus, transporting 53 farmworkers, was traveling westbound on SR-40. For unknown reasons, officials said a 2001 Ford Ranger truck traveling eastbound on the same road collided with the bus in a sideswipe manner.
After the collision, the bus traveled off the roadway through a nearby fence, struck a tree and overturned, FHP Lt. Patrick Riordan told reporters.
The driver of the private Ford Ranger truck, Bryan Maclean Howard, 41, was arrested and charged with eight counts of driving under the influence – manslaughter, according to an update from Florida Highway Patrol. Over 40 people injured in the crash were taken to local hospitals, including the driver of the pickup truck. That person had serious injuries, FHP said.
“Some of those are also in very serious condition. So there’s high probability this may be beyond eight fatalities,” Riordan said. “We do not get in a hurry to conclude what happened until we have all the facts. And with that, I can tell you that it’s going to be probably six months at least, before we conclude factually what transpired here today.”
Marion County Sheriff Billy Woods said crews will investigate to see if weather played a factor in the crash.
“That always a factor because, one, the time in the morning, you know, people claim the sun was in their eyes… it’s always a factor,” Woods said. “We have to look into it. We have to know if the roads were wet, what other circumstances out here. Was there something else that caused the crash? We don’t know right now.”
FHP said the farmworkers were headed to a farm in the area when the crash happened.
“We are a very big agricultural county. So this time of year, we always have migrant workers that are in our county that are on buses just like this,” Woods said.
SR-40 is currently shut down from S.W. 180th Avenue Road to S.W. 140th Avenue. The Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) said the area will be closed for an “extended period of time” as crews investigate.
AdventHealth Ocala said they are providing the media staging area due to the crash scene being cleared. They issued the following statement about the incident:
“Our prayers are with all those affected by the tragic bus accident in Ocala this morning. … Our immediate priority is to provide exceptional medical care to those injured, and compassionate support to our patients and their loved ones. We will continue to provide updates as more information becomes available.”
According to Marion County Fire Rescue, 34 people were transported to local hospitals. Eight of them were listed in critical condition, while the other 26 had non-life-threatening injuries. AdventHealth Ocala added that two of the 16 patients brought to its hospital have been transferred to other facilities, and the remaining 14 patients are in the process of being discharged.
Cannon Farms in Dunnellon shared the following statement on its Facebook page:
“We will be closed today out of respect to the losses and injuries endured early this morning in the accident that took place to the Olvera Trucking Harvesting Corp. Please pray with us for the families and the loved ones involved in this tragic accident. We appreciate your understanding at this difficult time.”
Alternate routes
Drivers wishing to head eastbound on SR-40 can take U.S. 41 northbound to West CR-328, then take West CR-328 eastbound back to SR-40, FDOT said.
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