8 dead, dozens hospitalized in massive Florida bus crash

ALL RIGHT. IF YOU’RE JUST JOINING US, WE JUST GOT AN UPDATE FROM STATE TROOPERS ABOUT THIS DEADLY CRASH THAT HAPPENED IN MARION COUNTY INVOLVING MIGRANT WORKERS WHO WERE ON THEIR WAY TO A FARM IN THAT AREA. EIGHT OF THEM DIED. 40 PEOPLE HAD TO BE TRANSPORTED TO THE HOSPITAL WORKING TO GET SOME MORE INFORMATION. AND WESH TWO NEWS AT NOON STARTS RIGHT NOW. WESH TWO NEWS STARTS NOW WITH BREAKING NEWS, AND WE’RE STAYING ON TOP OF TWO BIG BREAKING STORIES AT THIS HOUR. IT’S A FIRST WARNING WEATHER DAY AS OUR WEATHER TEAM TRACKS A ROUND OF SEVERE STORMS THREATENING CENTRAL FLORIDA AND SOME AREAS HAVE BEEN UNDER A TORNADO WATCH. NOW FOR HOURS. BUT FIRST, THAT HEARTBREAKING STORY OUT OF MARION COUNTY WERE EIGHT PEOPLE DIED AND 45 OTHERS GOT HURT AFTER A CRASH INVOLVING A BUS FILLED WITH FARM WORKERS. THAT CRASH HAPPENED JUST BEFORE 645 THIS MORNING ON STATE ROAD 40 NEAR SOUTHWEST 148 COURT, JUST WEST OF SOUTHWEST 140TH AVENUE. WE HAVE LIVE TEAM COVERAGE THIS AFTERNOON. TRAFFIC EXPERT MEAGHAN MACKEY IS TRACKING THE ROADS THAT ARE NOW CLOSED BECAUSE OF THIS CRASH. BUT WE DO WANT TO BEGIN WITH WESH TWO’S BOB HAZEN. HE IS LIVE AT THE SCENE WHERE THAT BUS AND THE PICKUP CRASHED WHEN THE TRUCK CRASHED THROUGH THE CENTER LINE. YEAH. SHELDON WE JUST GOT A LOT OF NEW INFORMATION ABOUT EXACTLY WHAT MIGHT HAVE LED UP TO THIS CRASH. WAIT ONE SECOND. WE HAVE SOME WEATHER THAT’S BLOWING SOME TENTS AROUND HERE. HERE. SO. BUT YEAH, WE GOT SOME NEW INFORMATION. ABOUT WHAT LEAD UP TO THIS. AS YOU KNOW, THERE WAS A BUS INVOLVED. WE’VE ALSO BEEN TELLING YOU ABOUT A PICKUP TRUCK, WHICH IS ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THAT POLICE VEHICLE RIGHT THERE. AND THAT PICKUP TRUCK, WE ARE TOLD, NOW CROSSED OVER OR GOT CLOSE, AT LEAST TO THE CENTER LINE OF STATE ROAD 40. AND THAT CAUSED THE IMPACT WITH THIS BUS THAT WAS CARRYING OVER 50 PEOPLE ON STATE ROAD 40. AND WE’RE TOLD IT WAS HEADING TO A FARM, A WATERMELON FARM IN DUNNELLON. NOW WE ARE TOLD AGAIN, EIGHT PEOPLE KILLED, EIGHT IN CRITICAL CONDITION, 37 OTHER PEOPLE TAKEN TO THE HOSPITAL. SO OBVIOUSLY A CATASTROPHIC SCENE THAT’S GOING TO TAKE A LONG TIME FOR THIS INVESTIGATION. THE FHP, AS WELL AS THE SHERIFF’S OFFICE ALL TELLING US THAT THIS IS GOING TO BE A VERY LENGTHY INVESTIGATION THAT WILL TAKE QUITE SOME TIME. THIS ROAD WILL BE SHUT DOWN FOR A LONG TIME. WE ALSO WERE TOLD THAT THERE WAS 30 AMBULANCES THAT RESPONDED OUT HERE TO HELP ALL OF THE VICTIMS ON THAT BUS THIS MORNING. THAT WAS A BUS, WE ARE TOLD NOW CONFIRMED BY THE SHERIFF’S OFFICE OF MIGRANT WORKERS, WHO AGAIN WERE HEADING TO THAT WATERMELON FARM. AND I TALKED TO A WOMAN WHO LIVES NEARBY WHO SAID SHE WAS DRIVING HER CHILDREN TO SCHOOL. THIS MORNING WHEN SHE CAME UPON HIM, WAS OBVIOUSLY HEARTBROKEN TO HEAR ABOUT ALL THE LOSS OF LIFE. IT’S KIND OF CRAZY THAT, UH, YOU KNOW, EIGHT PEOPLE HAVE LOST THEIR LIVES, BUT THIS ROAD SEEMS TO HAVE A LOT OF TRAFFIC INCIDENCES. AND, UM, OVER THE PAST SEVERAL YEARS, IT’S BEEN EVEN WORSE WITH EVERYBODY MOVING OUT HERE. AND AGAIN, THE BIG DEVELOPMENT THAT WE’VE HAD IN THE LAST TEN MINUTES REALLY HERE, THE SHERIFF, THE FHP CONFIRMING THAT THEY BELIEVE A PICKUP TRUCK THAT WAS TRAVELING IN THE OPPOSITE DIRECTION FROM THE BUS CROSSED CLOSE TO THE CENTER LINE, CAUSING THAT COLLISION, CAUSING THE BUS TO GO OFF INTO A FIELD AND A HORSE FARM THAT’S RIGHT HERE ALONG STATE ROAD 40. THIS IS A VERY RURAL AREA. I ALSO TALKED TO A WOMAN WHO LIVES RIGHT UP THE STREET, WHO SAID THAT SHE SAW THAT PICKUP TRUCK ON THE SIDE OF THE ROAD AND WENT OUT THERE TO TRY TO HELP THE MAN WHO WAS IN THAT TRUCK. SHE SAID SHE THAT HE TOLD HER HE DIDN’T KNOW WHAT EXACTLY HAPPENED, BUT HE DID SURVIVE AT LEAST THE CRASH AND WAS TAKEN TO THE HOSPITAL AGAIN. EIGHT PEOPLE KILLED, EIGHT IN CRITICAL CONDITION. THE SHERIFF AND FHP SAYING IT’S POSSIBLE THAT MORE FATALITIES COULD HAPPEN BECAUSE SOME OF THE INJURIES WERE SO SEVERE. BACK TO YOU. ALL RIGHT. A TRAGIC STORY ALL THE WAY AROUND. BOB, AS WE MENTIONED, THIS CRASH IS HAVING A BIG IMPACT ON THE ROAD, WHICH IS EXPECTED TO BE CLOSED FOR AT LEAST SEVERAL HOURS. FIRST WARNING TRAFFIC EXPERT MEAGHAN MACKEY IS HERE TO TALK ABOUT THE IMPACT THAT IT’S HAVING ON THE DRIVERS. YEAH, JUST AWFUL TO SEE THOSE LIVE PICTURES. SHELDON IF YOU ARE HEADING THAT WAY OF COURSE STATE ROAD 40 IS GOING TO BE SHUT DOWN. THAT’S NEAR 148TH COURT, WHERE BOB WAS JUST REPORTING LIVE FROM THIS PURPLE IS SHOWING THAT CLOSURE HERE ALONG STATE ROAD 40. NOW THIS IS IN MORE OF A RURAL AREA. THERE’S A LOT OF FARMLAND, OF COURSE, AS WE KNOW IN THAT AREA. THIS IS IN BETWEEN OCALA AND DUNNELLON. SO THERE IS GOING TO BE THAT DETOUR. WE DID HEAR FHP SAY THAT THEY REALLY DON’T KNOW HOW LONG THIS INVESTIGATION IS GOING TO TAKE. SO THIS COULD LAST THROUGHOUT TODAY. OF COURSE, WE WILL BE HERE ON WESH TWO NEWS AT FOUR, FIVE AND 6:00 GIVING YOU THOSE UPDATES ON THE DETOURS AS WELL AS THE CLOSURE. BUT IF YOU ARE TRAVELING THERE, THE DETOUR IS GOING TO BE ALONG US 41 AND COUNTY ROAD 328 HIGHLIGHTED HERE IN THAT BLACK THAT IS GOING TO BE THAT DETOUR. AND I DO ANTICIPATE STATE ROAD 40 TO BE SHUT DOWN. OF COURSE, AS I MENTIONED, SHELDON, WE WILL BE CONTINUING TO KEEP YOU UPDATED. I’LL BE BACK HERE ON WESH TWO NEWS AT FOUR. ALL RIGHT. MEGAN AND CANNON FARMS IS THE NAME OF THE FARM THAT THESE WORKERS WERE APPARENTLY HEADED TO FOR. THEY RELEASED A STATEMENT ON FACEBOOK, AND THEY SAID THAT THEY WILL BE CLOSED TODAY OUT OF RESPECT FOR THOSE WHO DIED. AND WERE HURT IN THE CRASH. ALL RIGHT. HERE’S A RECAP OF EVERYTHING THAT WE KNOW AT THIS HOUR. EIGHT PEOPLE ARE DEAD AFTER THAT BUS WITH MIGRANT WORKERS CRASHED WITH A PICKUP TRUCK THERE IN OCALA AND THE OCALA AREA, MARION COUNTY AREA. SOME PEOPLE ARE IN CRITICAL CONDITION. 12 PATIENTS HAVE BEEN TAKEN TO ADVENTHEALTH. FOUR OF THEM ARE GETTING TREATED AT THE ADVENTHEALTH TIMBER RIDGE EMERGENCY ROOM, AND FIVE PATIENTS A