Eight dead in farm worker bus rollovers in Central Florida

(OCALA, Fla.) – A bus carrying farm workers in central Florida overturned Tuesday, killing eight people and injuring about 40 other passengers, authorities said.

The bus was carrying 53 farm workers about 6:40 a.m. when it collided with a truck in Marion County, north of Orlando, the Florida Highway Patrol said.

Authorities say the bus left State Road 40, a straight but somewhat bumpy two-lane road that passes through farmland. He crashed into a fence and ended up lying on his side in a field. Workers were being transported to Cannon Farms in Dunellon, which had been harvesting watermelons.

Photos taken by the Ocala Star-Banner at the scene show the bus lying on its side with the rear emergency door and top hatch open. The truck that hit him has extensive damage to the driver’s side.

There is no immediate indication that weather was a factor.

“We will be closed today out of respect for the losses and injuries suffered this morning in the accident that occurred with Olvera Trucking Harvesting Corp.,” Cannon Farms announced on its Facebook page. “Please pray with us for the families and loved ones involved in this tragic accident. We appreciate your understanding at this difficult time.”

Cannon Farms describes itself as a family-owned commercial farming operation that has farmed its land for more than 100 years, now focusing on peanuts and watermelons, which it ships to supermarkets in the U.S. and Canada.

No one answered the phone at Olvera Trucking on Tuesday afternoon. The company had recently announced the hiring of a temporary driver to transport workers to the watermelon fields. The driver would then operate the harvesting equipment. Pay was $14.77 per hour.

It was not immediately clear whether the workers on the bus were migrants, but a Labor Department document shows that Olvera recently requested that 43 H-2A workers pick watermelons at Cannon Farms this month, also at a base rate of $14. 77 per year. hour, with promises of housing, three meals a day and transportation to and from the camp.