Two Die After Collision With School Bus
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Children at a Clay County elementary school are trying to cope with the deaths of two people who were in a car that collided with a school bus.
The Florida Highway Patrol reports the car ran into the back of a school bus filled with kids returning home Tuesday afternoon. Among the dead, Elisabeth Brantley, 19, who was driving the Pontiac four-door when it rear-ended the bus and then caught fire.
The bus, carrying 22 students from Middleburg Elementary School, was slowing to make a left turn. The students, ages 10 to 12, were okay except for minor injuries. “We were just grateful that none of our children were seriously injured,” said the Middleburg Elementary School Principal Becky Wilkerson.
Also in the front passenger seat was 48-year-old Paul Bruchesky who also died when the Pontiac literally went under the back of the bus. Samantha Brantley, 16 was in the back of the car and received non-life threatening injuries. Everyone in the car was wearing a seat belt, but from the look of the car after the accident, that didn’t matter.
The crash happened at the intersection of Hall Boree Road and Blanding Boulevard in southern Middleburg.
A Good Samaritan came along and used his pickup truck to push back the car from the school bus to keep the bus from catching fire. He left the scene and FHP does not have an identity.
There isn’t a week that goes by when we don’t write about distracted drivers and obviously, with no skid marks on the road, something kept this young driver from paying attention to what was ahead of her.
The first thing investigators will do is check the cell phone records of all calls and texting involved. Next thing to consider will be road conditions, whether there was rain or some obstruction or glare that prevented the driver from seeing ahead of her. Was there speed involved and were both parties following the rules of the road?
Several people from the area say that intersection is a death trap because you come upon it so fast after a hill and a blind spot in an area where people already speed and there are no lights. Expect some adjustment to the signals in that area very soon.
The story is evolving as we learn more. Those who have written to add to the story on News4Jax.com say that Elizabeth was driving the two passengers to participate in a Special Olympics bowling alley to practice. Her sister Sam, who sat in the back, had Down syndrome as did the man in the front seat. Elisabeth wanted to be a special education teacher. Several people have commented that she is not the type to text and was probably distracted by someone in the car.
Our hearts go out to the victims of this tragic accident and their families. #