WINTER HAVEN, Fla. — Two people were killed Monday morning in a multi-vehicle crash involving a school bus carrying students to Winter Haven High School, according to the Polk County Sheriff’s Office.
The crash happened shortly after 6 a.m. on Lucerne Park Road, also known as State Road 544, near Winter Haven. The bus was carrying 39 people: 37 students, the driver and the driver’s 9-year-old daughter.
Investigators say a westbound Chevrolet Malibu crossed the center line and struck the eastbound bus near its rear wheels, knocking off a tire. The bus then crossed into the opposite lane, collided head-on with a Jeep and overturned onto its roof.
A 10th-grade student on the bus and a person in the Jeep died. Sheriff Grady Judd said five to seven people were taken to hospitals with potentially traumatic injuries, and one person was in critical condition in the early hours after the crash.
Emergency crews worked to take injured people to hospitals and reunite students with their families. The cause of the crash remains under investigation.
Photo note: The Polk County Sheriff’s Office has posted images from the scene on its official Facebook page.
