WINTER HAVEN, Fla. (TNND) — Two people, including a 10th-grade girl, were killed and several others injured Monday morning when a school bus overturned in a multi-vehicle crash.
The incident occurred shortly after 6 a.m. when a white Chevy Malibu crossed the center line and struck the bus near its rear wheels. This collision caused the bus to collide head-on with a Jeep, which subsequently caught fire. According to Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd, the driver of the Jeep was killed.
There were 39 individuals aboard the bus, comprising 37 students, the driver, and the driver's daughter. Five to seven people sustained potentially traumatic injuries, with one person reported in critical condition, authorities said. Emergency personnel responded promptly, transporting the injured to local hospitals.
Polk County Public Schools Superintendent Frederick Heid noted that students are trained in emergency evacuation procedures, emphasizing that the outcome could have been significantly worse given the bus's condition, which ended up upside down in a ditch.
The investigation is ongoing, with more details anticipated at a press conference scheduled for Tuesday, authorities confirmed. Lane closures remain in effect as the scene is cleared.