Deputies said the driver was cited, then arrested hours later in a separate case.
FORT MYERS, FL — A Jaguar sports car slammed into the back of a stopped school bus in Lee County on Wednesday morning, wedging beneath the bus and sending the driver to a hospital with minor injuries. Deputies said no students were on the bus at the time.
The crash, captured on video and released by the Lee County Sheriff’s Office, drew attention because it happened near a bus stop during the morning pickup window. Officials said the impact was powerful enough to push the Jaguar under the rear of the bus, but the bus remained upright and the injuries reported were not life-threatening. The driver of the car, deputies said, was cited at the scene and later arrested in a separate incident at his home.
Deputies said they were called to the crash shortly before 9 a.m. Wednesday near the intersection of S. Tamiami Trail and Jack Rabbit Run, an area that serves residential neighborhoods south of Fort Myers. A school bus was stopping as it approached a bus stop when a Jaguar failed to slow down and struck the bus from behind, the sheriff’s office said. Video from the scene showed the car closing the gap quickly and hitting the bus as it slowed. A nearby resident, Dave Johns, said he was drinking coffee when he heard a loud boom and ran outside. He said he had seen children walking toward the bus stop about 15 minutes earlier, and he was relieved no students were in the bus when the crash happened.
The sheriff’s office identified the driver of the Jaguar as Jacob Novak, 31. Deputies said the impact pinned the Jaguar under the rear of the bus, leaving the front of the car lodged beneath the larger vehicle. The bus driver was treated at the scene for minor injuries and taken to a hospital, authorities said. Novak was medically cleared at the scene, deputies said, and was cited for following too closely. No other injuries were announced, and officials said the bus did not have students on board, a detail that helped keep the crash from turning into a mass-casualty event during a busy school commute.
Officials did not immediately release the name of the bus driver or say which school route the bus was serving, and they did not provide the driver’s age or whether the driver returned to work. Authorities also did not describe any mechanical problems with the bus or weather issues that could have contributed to the crash. Deputies said the bus was stopped as it approached the bus stop, and the video posted by the sheriff’s office focused on the Jaguar’s approach and the moment of impact. Investigators did not announce whether speed estimates, impairment testing, or phone use played a role, and they did not say if charges related to the traffic crash could change after a fuller review of the evidence. The sheriff’s office also did not say how long the road was blocked or whether the crash affected the morning schedule for other buses in the area.
Florida school bus crashes often draw extra scrutiny because buses share roads with morning commuter traffic while making frequent stops and deploying flashing lights and stop arms. In this case, deputies emphasized that the bus was in the pickup phase of the day, near a bus stop, when the crash occurred. Sheriff Carmine Marceno said the video was difficult to watch and highlighted the risk of reckless driving around school transportation. He said it was fortunate that no students were on the bus and no one was seriously injured. Marceno said the sheriff’s office planned to increase patrols in the area where the crash happened, describing the location as one that draws repeated traffic enforcement attention during school commute hours.
Deputies said the traffic case did not end at the crash scene. Novak was allowed to leave after he was medically cleared, the sheriff’s office said, and he walked home. About two hours later, deputies responded to Novak’s home for a domestic disturbance, authorities said. Investigators said a woman reported that Novak pushed her during an argument. The sheriff’s office said Novak was arrested and booked into jail on a battery charge stemming from that later incident. Officials did not identify the woman or provide additional details about the reported argument, and they did not say whether children were present at the home when deputies arrived.
Online reaction to the crash video centered on the narrow timing that kept students off the bus at the moment of impact and the striking image of the Jaguar wedged under the bus’s rear end. Johns, the nearby resident, said the sound of the crash was unusually loud and rattled the neighborhood. Marceno said his office had already issued citations at the same bus stop, and he framed the crash as a warning about driving behavior near school buses. Officials did not announce any new traffic devices or changes to the bus stop location, but they said patrols would increase and enforcement would continue in the area.
As of Friday, deputies had not announced additional charges tied to the crash beyond the traffic citation described at the scene, and the battery case remained separate from the bus collision. The sheriff’s office said investigators would continue reviewing the video and crash evidence as part of standard procedure, while school transportation officials assessed impacts on the driver and the bus route.
Author note: Last updated February 20, 2026.