Eight people were killed and dozens more wounded when a bus crashed Tuesday morning in central Florida.
Officials said 53 people were on board a 2010 International bus when it sideswiped a 2001 Ford Ranger pickup on Florida State Road 40 around 6:30 a.m., NBC News reported.
“Post collision, the bus traveled off the roadway through a fence and then overturned,” Florida Highway Patrol told Orlando ABC affiliate WFTV.
The bus was carrying migrant workers to their jobs on a watermelon farm in Dunnellon, according to the Ocala Star-Banner. They were employed by Cannon Farms.
“We will be closed today out of respect to the losses and injuries endured early this morning in the accident that took place to the Olvera Trucking Harvesting Corp,” Cannon Farms wrote on Facebook. “Please pray with us for the families and the loved ones involved in this tragic accident.”
In addition to the eight people killed, eight others were critically injured, the Star-Banner reported. The other 37 people on the bus were also transported to a local hospital with minor or no injuries, according to Gainesville ABC affiliate WCJB.
None of the victims have been publicly identified, and authorities shared no update on the driver of the pickup truck.
A large portion of Florida State Road 40 between Ocala and Dunnellon, about 70 miles northwest of Orlando, was closed Tuesday as authorities managed the crash scene.
The sheriff also shut down rumors that a school bus was involved in the crash. However, a Marion County School Bus was used to transport several victims to the hospital, according to Orlando NBC affiliate WESH.
