Mexican citizens were traveling to work at a Florida farm when a pickup hit their bus, killing 8
OCALA, Fla. (AP) — Mexican citizens were among those going to work at a Florida watermelon farm on Tuesday when the bus they were traveling in was sideswiped and crashed, killing eight people, officials said.
Alicia Bárcena, Mexico’s foreign relations secretary, on Tuesday said via the social media platform X that she was sorry to report that a tragic automotive accident had happened in Florida with Mexican agricultural workers involved. She didn’t say how many of the more than four dozen people on board were from Mexico.
The Mexican consulate in Orlando was working to find out more and provide support, according to a post on X. The Florida Highway Patrol said names of the people who died would be released after relatives were notified.
The Florida Highway Patrol arrested the driver of a pickup truck that crashed into the farmworker bus. Troopers said Bryan Maclean Howard, 41, faces eight counts of driving-under-the-influence-manslaughter for Tuesday morning’s crash. No further details were released, including what substance allegedly left Howard impaired.