Five students injured, two seriously, in school bus/tractor-trailer crash in Inglis, FL
Photos courtesy of FHP.
Inglis (Levy County), Florida - Five students were injured in Inglis, Florida, Wednesday afternoon, March 30, 2022, when a tractor-trailer crashed into the rear of a Levy County school bus that carried ten student passengers, in addition to the school bus driver, a 56 year-old woman from Inglis, who suffered minor injuries.
The driver of the 2019 International tractor-trailer was a 34 year-old man from Seffner, Florida, who suffered no injuries.
The crash occurred at 3:46 pm on U.S. Highway 19 at SE 140th Lane, north of the Town of Inglis, at the Village Pines Mobile Home Community and RV Campground, located at 8053 SE 140th Lane, in Inglis.
According to the Florida Highway Patrol, the tractor-trailer was traveling behind the 2012 Thomas school bus, owned by the Levy County School District, and both vehicles were traveling north, in the outside lane of U.S. Hwy. 19, when the school bus stopped at SE 140 Lane to discharge a passenger or passengers, with it's flashing red lights activated. For unknown reasons, the driver of the tractor-trailer failed to stop before the right side of the truck and the front side of the trailer collided with the rear of the school bus.
After the impact, the school bus came to rest, facing north on U.S. Hwy. 19 in the outside lane, and the tractor-trailer came to rest on the east grass shoulder of U.S. Hwy. 19.
Five of the student passengers were transported to UF Health Shands Hospital in Gainesville, Florida, two of them in serious condition, according to a press release.
The press release also stated that both drivers were wearing a seatbelt.
According to Lt. Scott Tummond with the Levy County Sheriff's Office, the northbound lanes of U.S. Hwy. 19 at the crash site were closed for several hours due to the investigation and the roadway being cleared of debris, and the parents of the students involved in the crash were notified.