An alleged drunk driver sideswiped a bus carrying dozens of farm workers to their job in Florida early Tuesday morning, causing a crash that killed eight people and injured many more.
The collision drove the bus, with 53 people aboard, off State Route 40 and into a tree before it overturned.
Florida Highway Patrol Lt. Patrick Riordan told WESH that eight people were confirmed dead but there is a “high probability” the number will rise.
At least 40 more were hospitalized, FHP said, at least eight of them critically injured.
Bryan Maclean Howard, driving a Ford Ranger pickup truck east bound when he crossed the center line and sideswiped the bus, was arrested early Tuesday afternoon and charged with eight counts of driving under the influence resulting in manslaughter, the highway patrol said. He was hospitalized in serious condition and told a witness he didn’t know what happened.
The farmers were en route to Cannon Farms, a beloved family-owned farm with a petting zoo in Dunnellon, closed its doors after the accident and said it would remain closed through Wednesday “out of respect to the losses and injuries endured early this morning.” The farm was forced to shut off comments on its Facebook post when posters began arguing with each other rather than offering condolences or even being respectful in the tragedy.
The farm workers, many on temporary H-2A visas aimed at supplementing the number of farm workers available, were contracted through Olvera Trucking in Immokalee, the Naples Daily News said. Officials on the scene said the owner of the company was aboard the bus when it crashed and was taken to a hospital.
The League of United Latin American Citizens said it had confirmed that all of the workers were in the United States legally. Multiple local organizations, including churches, were scrambling to get the identities of the victims so they could provide support services to them and their families.
The Mexican Consulate in Orlando said it is also working to gather information and provide it to families of the victims, who were Mexican migrants, WESH said.
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[Featured image: WESH screenshot. Inset: Bryan Howard/Florida Highway Patrol]
