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Ambulance flipped, bus full of students crushed in crash, Florida rescue says. 15 hurt

The force of the crash knocked the emergency vehicle onto its side.
The force of the crash knocked the emergency vehicle onto its side. Screen grab from Marion County Fire Rescue's Facebook post

An ambulance responding to a call in Florida was hit at an intersection, rolling the vehicle and sending 15 people to a hospital, fire rescue says.

Paramedics were responding to a medical call outside Ocala on the morning of Nov. 28 when their vehicle was hit in a crash that also involved a pickup truck and a small bus, according to a news release from the Marion County Fire Rescue Department.

The crash rolled the EMS vehicle and crushed the front of the bus, photos shared by the department show.

A small bus carrying students with special needs collided with the emergency vehicle in an intersection.
A small bus carrying students with special needs collided with the emergency vehicle in an intersection. Marion County Fire Rescue via Facebook

Firefighters were on the scene minutes later from a nearby fire station, the department said.

“A total of 15 patients were transported by MCFR to local hospitals: 2 MCFR firefighters, 11 special needs students on the bus, the bus driver and the driver of the pickup truck,” the department said. “Eight of the students were transported as a precaution while 3 had minor injuries.”

The two firefighters were hospitalized with minor injuries, according to the fire rescue.

The condition of the pickup truck driver was not released.

The crash is under investigation by the Florida Highway Patrol. No charges have been announced as of Nov. 28.

“MCFR would like to remind our citizens to yield to emergency vehicles as our lights and sirens are on,” the department said.

Marion County is about 100 miles northeast of Tampa.

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This story was originally published November 28, 2023 at 3:35 PM with the headline "Ambulance flipped, bus full of students crushed in crash, Florida rescue says. 15 hurt."

Irene Wright
McClatchy DC
Irene Wright is a McClatchy Real-Time reporter. She earned a B.A. in ecology and an M.A. in health and medical journalism from the University of Georgia and is now based in Atlanta. Irene previously worked as a business reporter at The Dallas Morning News.
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