2010-02-23 04:01:15 - Vehicle Accident - USA EDIS CODE: VI-20100223-25038-USA
Date & Time: 2010-02-23 04:01:15 [UTC]
Area: USA, State of Florida, US 27, Lake Placid Number of death person(s): 2
Number of Injured person(s): 32
Damage level: Heavy (Level 3)
Not confirmed information! Description: Two passengers were killed when a charter bus overturned today after being struck and cut off by a car, the Florida Highway Patrol said. Nearly all of the 32 people on the bus were injured. At around 2:15 p.m., the car's driver, Betty Adams, of Lake Placid, was headed east on Lake Francis Road and then made a left turn onto U.S. 27 to head north, said Lt. Chris Miller, an FHP spokesman. Adams' 2010 Mercury Sable struck the front left of the 2001 Ford bus, which was heading north on U.S. 27, and the bus overturned in the east shoulder of U.S. 27, Miller said. The accident occurred a couple miles north of Lake Placid. After the accident, about a dozen injured patients were seen lying on the ground, wearing neck braces and being tended to by emergency workers, who were also loading stretchers onto ambulances. FHP said at least five helicopters transported patients to hospitals. Tampa General Hospital received four patients. Other people injured were being taken to Florida Hospital Lake Placid, Highlands Regional Medical Center in Sebring and Florida Hospital Heartland Sebring. Adams, who wasn't injured, hasn't been charged, but the case remains under investigation, Miller said. There were 32 people on the Sunburst Charters bus, which is based in Moore Haven, Fla. On board, there were 29 seniors from a tour group, a South Florida Community College director of community education, a volunteer from the college and the driver. The bus was coming from Lake Placid after a trip to Archbold Biological Station, the Lake Placid murals and the Lake Placid Chamber of Commerce. They were heading to their hotel at Kenilworth Lodge in Sebring. South Florida Community College in Avon Park sponsors and organizes trips for seniors who come from around the country and spend a week to learn about the area's history, said college president Norman Stephens. The college has hosted six programs this winter, and this was the first day for this group whose members came from Texas, Illinois, Michigan, New York and Connecticut. The program's theme this week was "Exploring Old Florida." The participants range in ages from 66 to 87. Two people in the group are from Largo, but they weren't on the bus at the time of the accident, Stephens said. The college has an agreement with Exploritas in Boston, which helps provide seniors interested in educational and historical trips, Stephens said. Stephens said for decades the college has hosted educational activities for adults from throughout the country. This week's program has been cancelled, he said.
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