WINTER HAVEN, FL. (THECOUNT) — A 10th-grade girl attending Winter Haven High School and another person were killed Monday morning when a Polk County school bus overturned during a multivehicle crash in Winter Haven, Florida, authorities said.
The school bus was carrying 39 people, including 37 high school students, the driver and the driver’s 9-year-old daughter, when the crash occurred shortly after 6 a.m. on Lucerne Park Road, according to Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd. The students were headed to Winter Haven High School.
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Judd said a white Chevrolet Malibu traveling in the opposite direction crossed the center line and struck the school bus near its rear wheels. The impact caused the bus to lose a tire and lose traction before crossing into the opposite lane and colliding head-on with a silver Jeep.
The Jeep caught fire following the collision, and the person inside was killed. The school bus overturned onto its roof as a result of the crash.
Judd described the scene as a “horrible crash” and said the death of the 10th-grade student was especially tragic.
“We had a beautiful 10th grade girl lose her life,” Judd said during a Monday morning news conference.
Five to seven people were transported to hospitals as trauma alerts, with patients taken by medical helicopter, ambulance and private vehicles, authorities said. One injured person remained in critical condition, while several others were being treated at area hospitals.
First responders also faced the difficult task of identifying those involved and making sure students were reunited with their parents following the crash.
Polk County Public Schools Superintendent Fred Heid said district personnel were sent to area hospitals to assist students and families. He said all families had been contacted following the crash.
Heid said emergency training conducted with students may have helped prevent additional serious injuries. He noted that students regularly practice how to evacuate a school bus in the event of an emergency.
The crash involved the school bus and three other vehicles, according to preliminary information. Investigators said the reason the Chevrolet Malibu crossed the center line had not been determined.
The driver of the Malibu was reportedly traveling to work and was cooperating with investigators, according to information released following the sheriff’s briefing.
The Polk County Sheriff’s Office Traffic Homicide Unit is investigating the crash. Authorities have not released the names of either person killed.
The crash occurred on Lucerne Park Road, also known as State Road 544, west of Jacaranda Avenue near the Brookhaven Village community on the northeast side of Winter Haven. The roadway was closed in both directions from Old Lucerne Park Road to the Walmart Distribution Center as investigators processed the scene.
Winter Haven is located in Polk County in central Florida, approximately 50 miles southwest of Orlando and about 25 miles east of Lakeland.
Google Maps: Lucerne Park Road and Jacaranda Avenue, Winter Haven, FL
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