SEBASTIAN — A tractor-trailer driver involved in a crash with a school bus carrying 17 students was cited for careless driving, Florida Highway Patrol spokesperson Lt. Yanko Reyes said.
The tractor-trailer driver, a 40-year-old Fort Pierce man, was issued a traffic infraction, Reyes said. FHP no longer releases the names of crash victims because of privacy reasons.
The impact caused the school bus to flip on its side.
The driver of the tractor-trailer and three students were taken to area hospitals with non-life threatening injuries after the June 10 crash in the 200 block of C.R. 512, Sebastian Police Cpt. Tim Wood said. The students were released from the hospitals by 7 p.m. that same day, School District of Indian River County spokesperson Cristen Maddux said.
It was unclear what day the tractor-trailer driver was released from the hospital. The tractor-trailer belonged to Sysco Southeast Florida LLC, a food products supplier.
Wood said the School District of Indian River County bus and tractor-trailer were both headed westbound on C.R. 512 when the two vehicles collided. The tractor-trailer was in the right lane and the school bus was in the left lane moments before the wreck.
Reyes said the tractor-trailer driver made an improper lane change from the right lane to the left lane. The tractor-trailer struck the right side of the school bus.
Reyes said the bus swerved to the left, rotated counter clockwise and rolled on its side.
Maddux said all district school buses have seat belts. It was unclear if the students were wearing the seat belts during the collision.
Police closed C.R. 512 in the immediate area, causing traffic delays for several hours. The road reopened later that evening.
