Hailey Heseltine
ECB Publishing, Inc.
At approximately 2:49 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 23, a field trip turned into a terrifying incident as a Thomas County school bus carrying 37 children left the roadway and crashed into the woods at “Dead Man's Curve,” located at Waukeenah Highway and East Pinhook Road.
According to the Florida Highway Patrol (FHP) press release, the driver, a 70-year-old male from Thomasville, “failed to observe the sharp curve left.” He was unfamiliar with the Wacissa area and was interacting with another teacher at the time of the event. Per the press release, “the bus left the roadway and collided with several trees” before coming to a stop in the woods.
The FHP report says that the patrol was assisted on scene by the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office (JCSO), the Jefferson County Fire Rescue (JCFR) and the Wacissa Volunteer Fire Rescue (WVFR). Emergency services performed evaluations on scene, and no injuries were reported.
A social media post by the WVFR says, “We are incredibly thankful to report that all 37 individuals on board escaped without injuries! While everyone was safe, securing the large bus was no small task. It required considerable work and coordination among the emergency personnel responding to the accident. Thank you to our first responders!”
The WVFR post further acknowledges the Monticello Volunteer Fire Department in addition to JSFR, JCSO and FHP as partners who assisted “from assessing the scene and securing the bus to protecting the students and managing traffic.”
Also on social media, the Jefferson County Emergency Management extended a special thanks from JSCO Sheriff Mac NcNeill to Superintendent of Schools Jackie Pons for sending a bus to pick up the children and bring them to a local church, where they has access to shelter, restrooms and drinking water until a Thomas County school bus came to retrieve the students. The bus was escorted to the Florida-Georgia state line by JCSO.
The FHP report says that charges are pending following the incident.