Six Die as Truck Hits Bus of Handicapped Students

A school bus carrying handicapped children was hit broadside by a tractor-trailer Friday at a rural intersection, killing six people and injuring 17, authorities said.

The dead, all from the bus, were the driver, four boys and a girl, Levy County Sheriff’s Department spokeswoman Ola Crews said.

The flatbed truck, loaded with large tires for logging vehicles, apparently ran a stop sign, said Florida Highway Patrol trooper Theresa Allen. No charges were immediately filed against the injured driver, identified as Scott Allen, 26, of Tampa.

The school bus was carrying 19 handicapped children from the Williston Middle and Bronson Elementary schools, along with two adult aides and the driver, said Janice Zipperer, Levy County School Board secretary.

William Franco was driving about 100 yards behind the bus when the accident occurred. “I saw the impact--the truck never slowed down,” he said.

For about an hour after the accident, rescue teams worked to extract children from the crumpled bus, which ended up in a ditch with the truck embedded in its side, witness Troy Reid said.

“They were using hacksaws around the windows to cut some of the people out,” he said. “Also, they were hooking up chains to the side of the bus and trying to pull it off.”

Parents were meeting at Chiefland Elementary School to learn the status of their children, school officials said.

Identifying the dead was difficult because the children did not carry identification, and teachers were brought to the crash scene to help the medical examiner’s office, sheriff’s officials said.

Bronson, with about 700 residents, is in Levy County southwest of Gainesville.