OCALA, Fla. – Reaction is pouring in after 8 people were killed and 40 more were hospitalized after a bus crash Tuesday morning.
AdventHealth told News 6 they were treating 16 people – 12 of them at the AdventHealth Ocala Emergency Room and an additional four at the Timber Ridge ER.
Andreas Sequera is a chaplain with AdventHealth. He said he came up from Zephyrhills because there aren’t many Spanish-speaking chaplains in the area. He spent the day offering spiritual care to the victims impacted by the crash.
“You can tell that they’ve been through a lot and perhaps in just the few hours of this morning have been processing what they feel,” Sequera said. “Shock is not very far from them at this point.”
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Sequera said he’s spoken to many of the victim’s families over the phone.
“I haven’t seen any families here, but we spoke on the phone,” Sequera said. “Families have been, as you can imagine, quite shocked and there have been tears, but there have also been manifestations of relief and the patients have been very happy to be in communication with their loved ones.”
Sequera said the people he spoke to on Tuesday, were grateful for their help at the hospital.
“They expressed a lot of gratitude and relief and very, very much appreciative of the care that they’re receiving,” Sequera said. “Just an amazing expression of gratitude, because people have been pouring over them to just to help.”
Marion County Fire Rescue sent out a statement which said:
“Today, we faced a tragic incident on West Highway 40 in Ocala with a devastating bus wreck. It is with heavy hearts that we confirm the loss of eight lives,” stated Fire Chief James Banta. “I would like to extend my deepest gratitude to the 35 MCFR units that promptly responded to the emergency. I also want to thank our partners at the Marion County Sheriff’s Office, Emergency Management, HCA Ocala, Advent Health Ocala, and the Marion County Public School system for their invaluable assistance in transporting 45 patients to local hospitals. Their coordinated efforts were crucial in managing this crisis.”
MCFR
The statement goes on to thank the multiple agencies who helped transport the victims, including Marion County Public Schools who said one school bus was used to help transport people.
Officials said the bus involved in the crash was heading to Cannon Farms. The farm posted a statement on social media which said:
“We will be closed today out of respect to the losses and injuries endured early this morning in the accident that took place to the Olvera Trucking Harvesting Corp. Please pray with us for the families and the loved ones involved in this tragic accident. We appreciate your understanding at this difficult time.
Edit: We are so thankful for all who have reached out and all of the prayers. I did have to turn off the commenting due arguments happening and this is just not the place for it. Families are hurting and grieving and we just need to pray and support them in this time. Thank you so much to all of you for your understanding.”
Cannon Farms
The Farmworkers Association of Florida also shared information to a GoFundMe they created, asking people to consider donating to the victims and their families after the deadly bus crash. You can donate by clicking here.
On Tuesday afternoon a representative from AdventHealth told News 6, they had one patient left in stable condition. The rest have either been transferred or were in the process of being sent home.
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