Catherine Rusoff
In the wake of a bus accident that killed at least eight people and injured dozens of others when it rolled over in central Florida on Tuesday, authorities responding to the deadly incident have released body camera footage and dashboard camera video recorded at the scene.
The body camera footage was taken by Deputy Robert Bosnyak of the Marion County Sheriff’s Office and shared with news outlets Thursday as the county pursues criminal charges against Bryan Maclean Howardthe man accused of hitting the side of the bus while driving under the influence. Howard faces eight counts of DUI manslaughter, as authorities say his pickup truck hitting the bus is what pushed him off the road and into a grassy area on the outskirts of the town of Dunnellon.
Bosnyak entered a chaotic scene when he arrived at the scene of the accident. Images show police vehicles beginning to crowd the shoulder of the highway and response teams gathered around the bus, which was visibly damaged and on its side. Over the scanner, a dispatcher informed Bosnyak that there were 53 patients, 13 of whom were in critical condition, following the accident. Authorities said about 40 people were injured.
Marion County Sheriff’s Office
“Those 13 critics will still be trapped inside the bus,” Bosnyak responded to the dispatcher. A fire department rescuer entered the bus through the back door, but what happened inside was not clear in the footage. People surrounded the bus in groups, some of them standing in the field, while others walked back and forth and at least two people passed a cell phone between them. Several people were lying on the grass at different points on the bus. Whether they were injured, and if so to what extent, was also not obvious from the footage.
The retired school bus was transporting about 53 migrant farmworkers to work in a watermelon field about 80 miles northwest of Orlando. He was struck Tuesday morning by a 2001 Ford Ranger truck that was driving in the opposite direction on a relatively compact two-lane road, the Florida Highway Patrol told CBS News in a statement. The collision happened around 6:30 a.m. and sent the bus off course, causing it to crash into a nearby fence and a tree before overturning.
Marion County Sheriff’s Office
Of those who suffered injuries in the crash, the highway patrol said some injuries were serious enough that the hospital that admitted them classified their conditions as critical on Tuesday. According to Howard’s arrest report, released by the Marion County Sheriff’s Office with the video, six of the at least eight people killed in the crash were identified as: José Heriberto Fraga Acosta, 27; Isaías Miranda Pascal, 21; Manuel Pérez Rios, 46; Cristian Salazar Villeda, 24; Alfredo Tovar Sánchez, 20; and Evarado Ventura Hernandez, 30. Two other deceased victims were identified as Hispanic men.
Howard appeared in court, virtually, for the first time on Wednesday. Marion County Judge LeAnn Mackey-Barnes approved his request for a public defender and ordered him held without bail. Online court records show Howard entered a written not guilty plea to the manslaughter charges after his appearance. His next appearance is scheduled for June.
Manuel Bojorquez, Taylor Johnston and Alex Sundby contributed reporting.
