Worker Killed During Head-On Crash with Tanker Truck in Polk County

By Orlando Personal Injury Attorney on April 6, 2023

One person was killed and ten others sustained a variety of injuries earlier this week after their bus was involved in an accident with a semi-truck along U.S. Highway 98, according to preliminary reports from the Polk County Sheriff’s Office.

Crash details from the responding officers with the Polk County Sheriff’s Office indicate that it was close to 6:00 a.m. on Monday, April 3, 2023, when a bus transporting 38 migrant workers to a strawberry field in Plant City was travelling in the westbound direction of U.S. Highway 98 near Fort Meade. As the bus approached the area just east of Adams Road, something caused the vehicle to veer into the eastbound lane which positioned the bus in the direct path of an oncoming semi-truck hauling 8,400 pounds of unleaded fuel. Neither driver was able to avoid a collision and the two vehicles crashed into one another head-on.

Several emergency response teams from Polk County were dispatched to the scene of the bus vs. tanker truck accident and arrived within minutes of the first 9-1-1 calls. Medical teams quickly assessed the situation and sadly determined that one individual from the bus had already passed away from life-ending injuries received during the collision.

Nine other passengers from the bus were transported to multiple local hospitals, including Lakeland Regional Health Medical Center and Tampa General Hospital. The driver of the semi-truck was taken to Bartow Regional Medical Center for treatment of minor injuries.

“All crashes are gut-wrenching, but when you see it is a group of folks who are on their way to do hard work that most of society won’t do so that we have the ability to have fresh fruit, and for reasons unknown at this point in the investigation, the driver careens over the center line, head-on into another vehicle. It’s very sad,” said Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd in a press release.

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If you or a loved one have been seriously injured or killed in an auto accident, then you deserve to have diligent legal representation by your side should you choose to pursue a case. Polk County personal injury attorney James O. Cunningham has been fighting for the rights of injured victims with the utmost care & compassion for over forty-six years. To schedule a free 30-minute case evaluation, please contact our office today at 877-FL-INJURY.

James O. Cunningham

Since 1977, personal injury lawyer James Cunningham has provided effective legal advocacy to people who are injured through the negligent actions of another person or entity throughout the Central Florida area. He fights to obtain recoveries for his clients’ physical and emotional pain and suffering and pursues his clients’ personal injury cases with a commitment to excellence and impeccable preparation.