Two die after Florida school bus overturns in crash

A school bus taking students to Winter Haven High School overturned Monday morning in a multivehicle crash, killing two people, including a 10th-grade girl, authorities said.

The crash left several others hospitalized and prompted Polk County officials to describe it as one of the area’s worst school bus tragedies in decades, ABC7 Los Angeles reported, citing WESH-TV.

Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd said an oncoming car crossed the center line and hit the side of the school bus near its rear wheels, according to ABC7 Los Angeles, citing WESH-TV. The impact ripped off a tire and sent the bus into an oncoming Jeep before the bus overturned and stopped in a roadside ditch.

Authorities said 39 people were on the bus: 37 high school students, the driver and the driver’s daughter. A 10th-grade girl on the bus was killed, and one person in the Jeep died after the head-on crash and fire, ABC7 Los Angeles reported.

Five to seven people were taken to a hospital with potentially traumatic injuries, authorities said. One person remained in critical condition early Monday.

"It was a horrible crash," Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd said at a news conference. Judd also said, "It was a terrible, tragic morning. We had a beautiful 10th grade girl lose her life."

Polk County Public Schools Superintendent Frederick Heid said the toll could have been worse. "This event could have been far worse. You can see the condition of the bus, you can see its current positioning," Heid said, according to ABC7 Los Angeles.

A previous Polk County school bus crash happened in Lakeland on Sept. 3, though no students were on the bus at that time, ABC7 Los Angeles reported.