No injuries reported in school bus collision
A busload of 24 students at the Franklin County Schools escaped injury Friday morning, when it was struck by a pair of vehicles drying to pass it just west of Carrabelle.
According to a report from the Florida Highway Patrol, the schoolbus, driven by a 74-year-old Eastpoint man, was traveling west on U.S. 98 near Quail Run Drive at about 7:30 a.m. when the accident occurred.
At that time, a sports utility vehicle, driven by a 33-year-old Carrabelle woman with a 13-year-old boy as passenger, was passing the bus in a passing zone.
A sedan, driven by a 17-year-old Carrabelle man with two 15-year-old male passengers aboard, pulled out to pass the bus and came upon the SUV still passing the bus. The sedan then moved to the left and went to pass the SUV on the south paved shoulder of the highway.
As it passed the SUV, the sedan’s right rear collided with the left side of the SUV, reported the FHP. The driver of the SUV then steered right and started to
rotate clockwise in the westbound lane of US-98 directly in front of the bus. While rotating the right rear of the SUV collided with the front of the bus.
The report said the SUV then entered the north shoulder of US 98 rear first and traveled into a ditch. The bus came to a controlled rest on the north shoulder of US-98. The sedan continued westbound on US-98 and stopped west of the crash scene.
None of the 24 students were transported by emergency medical services from the scene. The report said three students were transported by a parent to a local hospital.
Assisting the Florida Highway Patrol and the county ambulance services were the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office, Carrabelle Police Department, and Carrabelle Volunteer Fire Department.
Meet the Editor
David Adlerstein, The Apalachicola Times’ digital editor, started with the news outlet in January 2002 as a reporter.
Prior to then, David Adlerstein began as a newspaperman with a small Boston weekly, after graduating magna cum laude from Brandeis University in Waltham, Massachusetts. He later edited the weekly Bellville Times, and as business reporter for the daily Marion Star, both not far from his hometown of Columbus, Ohio.
In 1995, he moved to South Florida, and worked as a business reporter and editor of Medical Business newspaper. In Jan. 2002, he began with the Apalachicola Times, first as reporter and later as editor, and in Oct. 2020, also began editing the Port St. Joe Star.