PEMBROKE PINES, Fla. (WSVN) — Police are investigating after a car slammed into the back of a school bus in Pembroke Pines, leaving one driver dead, Thursday morning.
Both the bus and car were heading westbound on Pembroke Pines Boulevard, at around 6:30 a.m.
According to officials, the Broward District Schools bus was at a red light when a red 2013 Toyota Camry failed to stop and rammed into the back of it.
The crash caused the car to become wedged underneath the bus, trapping the driver and a passenger inside. “It’s pretty clear that the car drove under the bus,” said Pembroke Pines Police Sgt. John Baker. “The reason why that happened, we don’t know for sure. It could be speed, it could be texting, it could be DUI. We don’t know any of those things yet. That’s all open for investigation.”
The driver, identified as Dean Eric Bass, was pronounced dead at the scene.
The passenger was transported by ground to Memorial Regional Hospital in serious but stable condition.
There were no students on board the bus at the time of the crash. The bus driver did not suffer any injuries.
Police said the fact that so much of the car ended up under the bus leads them to believe the driver may have been speeding. “The car is pretty far under the bus, so that’s usually an indication that speed is involved, that it’s able to make it that far under,” said Baker, “so speed may be a factor.”
Now investigators are trying to determine whether this tragedy could have been avoided. “We’ll have to figure out what the distraction was or what the problem was that they weren’t able to avoid the wreck,” said Baker.
The passenger remains at Memorial Regional Hospital.
The cause of the accident remains under investigation.
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