Overview
- A westbound Chevy Malibu crossed the double yellow line and clipped the rear wheel of an eastbound Polk County school bus, forcing the bus into oncoming traffic and overturning it in Winter Haven on Monday, Oct. 5.
- Two people died: 16-year-old Adinaluz Guadalupe Prieto Oyola, a Winter Haven High 10th grader on the bus, and 26-year-old DeShawn Smith, who was driving a Jeep that caught fire after the collision.
- Thirty-nine people were on the bus, including 37 students, the driver and her 9-year-old daughter, and dozens were treated at local hospitals with most released while a few remain under observation.
- Polk County released dashcam and onboard video, and officials say the 23-year-old Malibu driver is cooperating, provided a voluntary blood sample and has not been charged as the probe continues.
- First responders, bystanders and the bus driver who freed herself after being pinned aided students at the scene, and local vigils, fundraising and school support efforts have begun as investigators review phone and blood-draw data.