Victims identified in Florida school bus crash; 3 still hospitalized
Authorities have identified the two people killed in a school bus crash in Winter Haven, Florida, including a 10th-grade student. Three people are still hospitalized, but all are expected to make a full recovery.
At a briefing Tuesday, officials identified the victims as Adinaluz Prieto Oyola, a 10th-grade student at Winter Haven High School, and Deshawn Smith, 26, of Haines City. Oyola was aboard the bus, while Smith was driving a Jeep to work.
Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd said fire and EMS crews transported 35 people to hospitals after Monday’s crash. The bus carried 37 students, the driver and her 9-year-old daughter, for a total of 39 people.
The crash happened at about 6:13 a.m. on Lucerne Park Road, also known as State Road 544, west of Jacaranda Avenue on Winter Haven’s northeast side.
Video shown during the briefing captured a westbound white Chevrolet Malibu crossing the double yellow line and striking the eastbound bus at its rear wheels. The impact caused the bus to lose traction and cross into the westbound lanes, where it hit Smith’s Jeep head-on. The Jeep caught fire.
Judd also confirmed that a fourth vehicle, a Kia Forte, struck the rear of the Malibu after the initial collision. Its driver suffered minor injuries and went to a hospital.
The sheriff identified the Malibu’s driver as Maria Jimenez, 23, a nursing student from Haines City who was heading to work at Lakeland Regional Health. She was treated and released from a hospital and has cooperated with investigators, providing her phone, an interview and a voluntary blood sample.
“I don’t remember what happened,” she told investigators, according to Judd. The investigation into why she crossed the center line is ongoing.
Judd said the Malibu, bus and Jeep were all traveling below the speed limit. Video and crash reconstruction showed the bus driver, Jessica Dye, 34, was in her lane and was not at fault.
The sheriff disclosed that Dye had previously received a traffic citation for a minor rear-end collision while driving a school bus. He said that incident had no connection to Monday’s crash.
Footage also showed Dye freeing herself after being pinned inside the bus and immediately helping students despite her own injuries. Her daughter was aboard throughout the crash and rescue efforts.
Polk County Public Schools Superintendent Frederick Heid said two bystanders entered the bus to help students get out. At least four students also tried repeatedly to evacuate Oyola after realizing she was unresponsive.
“Don’t worry, I won’t leave you,” one student could be heard saying on the recording, according to Heid. The student left only after a woman who entered the bus persuaded him to get out.
Heid said Monday was supposed to be Oyola’s first day of cheerleading practice. Her belongings, including a phone filled with messages from friends and loved ones, were returned to her parents Monday night.
Crisis counselors are supporting students and staff at Winter Haven High School and Lake Alfred Polytech Academy, where Oyola previously attended.
