WINTER HAVEN, Fla. (WSVN) — Authorities have revealed a new look of a deadly bus crash in Central Florida that, they said, took the life a 10th grade girl and a driver.
That bus was carrying 39 people — 37 students, the bus driver and the bus driver’s child — at the time of Monday morning’s crash along Lucerne Park Road, west of Jacaranda Avenue near the Brookhaven Village community in Winter Haven.
At a news conference Tuesday morning, the Polk County Sheriff’s Office shared video from on board the bus, from the driver’s point of view, that captured the moment when, investigators said, an oncoming car driven by a nursing student crossed over into the path of the bus.
“You can tell that she’s in her lane of travel, she is not speeding, she is under the speed limit, and that’s how horrible and how quick it really is,” said Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd. “It happened in the blink of an eye, so it was absolutely impossible for that driver to get any kind of control over that bus because it immediately crashed into this Jeep.”
The crash would send several people to the hospital and claim the lives of two people, including a 10th grade student, later identified as 16-year-old Adina Luz Prieto Oyola.
“An amazing young lady in every account. Teachers loved her, friends loved her, yesterday was to be her first day of cheerleading practice,” said Polk County Public Schools Superintendent Frederick Heid.
A friend of Prieto recalled how she was a light to those around her.
“She was a really nice person, she would always, like, match people’s energy and everything,” said Prieto’s friend. “She was really kind, she was really loving, she was just nice. She was a nice person.”
Another driver involved, later identified as 26-year-old Deshawn Smith, immediately died on impact, authorities said.
911 calls revealed what happened as good Samaritans checked on the victims.
“A bus hit, a car is flipped over,” said a witness to a 911 dispatcher.
“Is anyone injured?” asked the dispatcher.
“Probably, the bus is flipped over,” said the witness.
“Are there any injuries?” asked the dispatcher.
“Yes, there’s a lot of injuries,” another witness said.
A call was also made by a victim’s Apple Watch to dispatchers.
The students were on their way to a high school in Winter Haven when it was hit by a Jeep, which caused it to flip over and crash into another vehicle, investigators said.
The bus driver was pinned behind the wheel, but she somehow made her way out to go back and help the students on board.
Judd spoke about the bus driver’s heroic actions and provided another view with footage from inside the bus
“Despite the fact she has some injuries — and we’re blessed that she’s not injured worse than she is with this head-on crash — she pulls herself out of being wedged in this crash, pinned in, and then immediately starts helping the students on the bus, all the while, she’s got her, I think, 9-year-old child on the bus with her,” said Judd. “So understand the dedication of this lady. She gets up every morning, drives a school bus, takes her young child with her, lets her sleep on the front seat while she runs her route.”
Now, a community is in mourning over the life that was lost.
“I can tell you after many years of being a superintendent and having dealt with countless tragedies over the years, that was the most difficult conversation I have ever had to have with a family,” said Heid.
According to the sheriff, all of the vehicles involved were going the speed limit.
Thirty-five people were taken to the hospital, and three of the students who were taken to the hospital remain there as of Tuesday afternoon
Authorities said all of them are expected to make a full recovery as the crash remains under investigation.
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