A 10th-grade student at Winter Haven High School was among two people killed in a Polk County school bus crash early Monday morning.
The crash happened just before 6:15 a.m. west of Jacaranda Avenue and the Brookhaven Village community on the northeast side of Winter Haven.
Sheriff Grady Judd said 39 people were on the bus at the time of the crash, including 37 students, a bus driver and the bus driver’s 9-year-old daughter.
A preliminary investigation revealed that school bus 1819 was headed eastbound on Lucerne Park Road around 6:13 a.m. when a white Chevy Malibu, headed westbound, veered over the center line into the bus’ lane, starting what Judd called “a chain reaction.”
Judd said the Chevy driver clipped the back tires of the bus. As a result of the impact, the school bus crossed over to the westbound lane and hit a silver Jeep head-on. The bus flipped over into a ditch, and the Jeep caught fire.
According to the sheriff, a 10th-grade girl was killed in the crash, along with the Jeep driver.
“There are really no words that can take away the pain of losing a young person,” Justin Sharpless, the Polk County School Board chair, said during a news conference at the scene of the crash.
Several other students were transported to the hospital in medical helicopters, ambulances and family cars. He said there were five to seven trauma alerts. More than 100 first responders arrived on scene.
As of 10 a.m., Judd said there is one person in critical condition and several people still being treated at the hospital. BayCare said the hospital received 22 patients, including 19 children and three adults.
“At this time, 13 patients have been treated and released. The others are still under evaluation in the Emergency Center at Winter Haven Hospital,” BayCare told 10 Tampa Bay News in a statement.
AdventHealth Heart of Florida took in 10 child patients after the crash, all of whom have been discharged and are back with their parents, according to a spokesperson.
“We are deeply grateful to our clinical and spiritual care teams for caring for these children and supporting the students and families alongside our colleagues at Polk County Public Schools,” AdventHealth said in a statement. “We also extend our appreciation to the first responders, the teams at other hospitals that received patients, and everyone who came together to care for our community during an incredibly difficult time. We are praying for all involved.”
The others injured in the crash were taken to Lakeland Regional Medical Center and Arnold Palmer Children’s Hospital.
PCSO said Monday afternoon that 22 students were transported on another school bus with a Polk County Fire Rescue paramedic inside to Winter Haven Hospital. BayCare confirmed with 10 Tampa Bay News that 13 students have been treated and released, and others are under evaluation in the emergency center.
Seven students on the bus, the bus driver, and her daughter were taken to the hospital by an ambulance. PCSO says three other students on the bus were airlifted to the hospital, and four other students were taken to the hospital by family members.
Winter Haven High School remains open today.
The Chevy driver was reportedly heading to work before they crashed into the bus, and Judd said they are cooperating with the investigation. No arrests have been made.
All lanes of Lucerne Park Road were closed for about four to five hours as the Polk County Sheriff’s Office traffic homicide unit investigated the scene. The closure extended along Old Lucerne Park Road near the Walmart Distribution Center.
The road has reopened as of 3 p.m.
Judd called this crash “the most horrific bus tragedy we’ve had in decades” in Polk County.
The sheriff said he will hold another news conference on Tuesday at 11 a.m. to discuss the findings of the traffic homicide investigation. The conference will be held at PCSO’s Sheriff’s Operations Center at 1891 Jim Keene Boulevard in Winter Haven.
Governor Ron DeSantis has been briefed on the situation and has offered state resources as necessary, according to Alex Lanfranconi, the governor’s communication director.
“If there’s a silver lining, the silver lining is there wasn’t more fatalities than there were. But to have one fatality is one too many, and to have one fatality of a beautiful high school girl is just heartbreaking,” Judd said.
