BARTOW, FL — A Polk County Public Schools bus #2474 was rear-ended by a Dodge Ram Wednesday morning while it was stopped near the railroad tracks at Highway 17 and Spirit Lake Road in Bartow.
According to the Polk County Sheriff’s Office, the crash occurred at approximately 7:17 a.m. No students were aboard the school bus at the time of the crash. The school bus driver was injured and transported to a local hospital as a precaution, according to Polk County Public Schools.
This marks the third school bus involved in a crash in the area this week. On Monday morning, a Polk County Public Schools bus carrying 37 Winter Haven High School students was involved in a fatal multi-vehicle crash on Lucerne Park Road. A 10th-grade student and the driver of a Jeep were killed in the crash.
On Tuesday morning, a Highlands County school bus carrying 12 students was struck by a box truck while stopped at U.S. 27 and Gould Road in Venus. Two students suffered minor injuries. Nothing further at this time.
SOURCE: POLK COUNTY SHERIFF’S OFFICE, POLK COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS, EYEWITNESS
