Fatal Marion County bus crash called “worst DUI-related crash” in Florida’s recent history

A collision between a pickup truck and a bus left eight people dead and 38 people hospitalized on May 14 [Florida Highway Patrol].

In the wake of the catastrophic May 14 bus crash west of Ocala that killed eight people and sent 38 to the hospital, victim advocates call it the worst impaired-driving crash in Florida’s recent history. The tragedy occurred on the same day as the 36^th anniversary of the deadliest DUI crash in U.S. history.

In the early morning of May 14 in west Marion County, authorities said a pickup truck driven by Bryan Maclean Howard, 41, sideswiped a bus carrying 53 farm workers, causing the bus to veer off State Road 40 and go through a fence, hit a tree and overturn. Eight people died and 38 were hospitalized. Howard was arrested and charged with eight counts of DUI manslaughter later that day, according to the Florida Highway Patrol.

Howard told investigators he had smoked marijuana oil a few hours earlier and had taken several prescription medications. He has since pleaded not guilty to the charges and has been denied bond, according to Marion County Clerk of Court records.

Mothers Against Drunk Driving’s Florida chapter director Larry Coggins, a former public information officer for the Florida Highway Patrol, said he has spent his career investigating crashes like the bus accident and now works to end impaired driving.

“While I can recall anecdotally a few noteworthy crashes in Florida of epic proportions, this one (on May 14) in Marion County stands out as the worst DUI related crash for at least this generation, in my recollection,” Coggins said.

Thirty-six years before on the same day in Carroll County, Kentucky, an eerily similar accident took the lives of 27 people, 24 of whom were children. On May 14, 1988, a pickup truck and a school bus collided on Interstate 71. There were 67 occupants on the bus, which was formerly used as a school bus, who were traveling back from a trip as part of their local youth group. The majority of the occupants were high school students. Twenty-seven people were killed and 34 were injured after the bus caught fire due to the crash.

The driver of the pickup truck was impaired and under the influence of alcohol. He was convicted of 27 counts of manslaughter and served 10 years in prison.

MADD, a nationwide victim advocacy group that works to end drunk and impaired driving, remarked on the coincidence of these fatal DUI crashes occurring on the same day, 36 years apart.

While the driver in the Carrolton bus crash was found to be under the influence of alcohol and the Ocala driver is accused of driving under the influence of drugs, Coggins said people should think no differently based on how a person is impaired.

“Impairment is impairment,” Coggins said. “Whether it’s drugs, alcohol, drugs and alcohol, or prescription medication.”

Coggins recalled other severe crashes that have made history in Florida and offered sympathy to Marion County Fire Rescue’s first responders, the victims and the families of those who were killed.

“A lot of times people don’t think about first responders and what they see and what they smell and what they hear that’ll stay with them forever,” Coggins said. “Besides the fact that eight families have a loved one who’s not coming home, 40 other families have a loved one seriously hurt and that’s going to affect the way they live, the way they make their income and the way their children get fed.”

Coggins recalled a crash scene he was present at in 2008 in Polk County on Interstate 4, when more than 100 vehicles collided, four people died and many were injured. Every vehicle accident is avoidable, whether due to driver error, carelessness or intoxication, he said.

“I think we saw the absolute worst-case scenario,” Coggins said. “Everybody who passed this pickup truck prior to him hitting that bus should be thanking the heavens that it wasn’t them.”

MADD has a 24/7, toll-free hotline to offer support to victims of drunken or drugged driving. Spanish-speaking operators are also available to offer support and resources. Call +1 (877)623-3435.