A 76-year-old man from Silver Springs has died from injuries he sustained after his pickup truck crashed into a Marion County school bus that turned in front of him on State Road 40, marking at least the third accident involving a local school bus in the past month.
The fatal accident occurred near the intersection of SR 40 and SE 177th Avenue at around 2:50 p.m. on Wednesday, May 6.
According to a report from the Florida Highway Patrol, a 55-year-old woman from Silver Springs was driving a Marion County school bus eastbound on SR 40.
The bus, which was carrying special needs students from Maplewood Elementary, had stopped at the roadway’s intersection with SE 177th Avenue while waiting to turn left.
After stopping, the bus driver initiated a left turn onto SE 177th Avenue and failed to yield the right of way to an oncoming GMC pickup truck.
That truck, which was being driven by the elderly man, collided nearly head-on with the bus as a result.
The elderly man sustained serious injuries in the crash and was transported to a local hospital under trauma alert. He succumbed to his injuries at the hospital and passed away shortly thereafter.
The school bus driver, a bus aide, and four children on the bus who ranged in age from 5 years old to 10 years old, were not injured in the accident.
The accident caused the roadway to be blocked for several hours as emergency personnel tended to the scene. It marks at least the third incident over the past month involving a Marion County school bus.
Earlier this week, a 21-year-old Ocala man had to be transported to a local hospital after he experienced a medical episode and crashed into a school bus with over two dozen students onboard.
Last month, another driver was arrested in connection with a hit-and-run involving a stopped Marion County school bus.
According to data maintained by the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles, through April 30, approximately 32 individuals have been killed in vehicular accidents on Marion County roadways, including at least eight motorcyclists and three pedestrians.