Four Maplewood Elementary students and two adults on the bus were not injured, officials said.
MARION COUNTY, FL — A 76-year-old Silver Springs man died Wednesday after his pickup truck collided with a Marion County school bus on State Road 40 near Southeast 177th Avenue, the Florida Highway Patrol said.
The crash drew a large emergency response and briefly blocked traffic along a rural stretch of State Road 40 east of Ocala. The school bus was carrying four Maplewood Elementary School students, a driver and an aide. Officials said all six people on the bus were not injured. The pickup driver was trapped in the wreckage, removed by rescue crews and taken to a hospital as a trauma alert before he died.
The crash was reported around 2:45 p.m. Wednesday, as the school day was ending and the bus was taking students home. Troopers said the bus was traveling east on State Road 40 and tried to turn left near Southeast 177th Avenue when it collided with the oncoming pickup truck. The pickup was towing a trailer, according to early reports from the scene. Florida Highway Patrol investigators said preliminary evidence showed the bus failed to yield while making the turn. The agency said its final crash report had not been completed, and the finding could be updated as investigators review statements, vehicle damage, roadway evidence and any available video.
Marion County Fire Rescue said crews found the pickup driver trapped after the collision and worked to remove him from the vehicle. He was taken to a hospital with serious injuries and later died. Officials identified him only as a 76-year-old man from Silver Springs. The students on the bus were ages 5, 6, 7 and 10, troopers said. The bus also carried a driver and a 58-year-old aide from Ocala. No injuries were reported among the students or school employees. The Marion County Sheriff’s Office said the roadway reopened shortly before 4 p.m. after emergency crews and investigators cleared the scene.
The Marion County School District said the bus was assigned to Maplewood Elementary School. The district said it would wait for the Florida Highway Patrol’s official crash report before deciding whether any discipline or further action would follow. District officials also said the bus has cameras, but they would not release video from inside the bus because of student privacy. The crash happened during a busy period for school transportation, when buses are often making frequent stops and turns on two-lane roads. State Road 40 runs through parts of Marion County with long stretches of rural traffic, residential driveways and intersections used by school vehicles, commuters and trucks.
The collision came after other recent school bus incidents in Central Florida. In April, troopers said a pickup truck rear-ended a Marion County school bus and left the scene, injuring nine students. The suspected driver in that case was later arrested. In Lake County, video showed a school bus swerving into oncoming traffic while students were aboard, and the district said that driver would receive additional training. In Sumter County, a school bus driver was arrested after a train clipped a bus carrying students. Authorities said that case involved warning lights and crossing arms at a railroad crossing. Those incidents have added attention to school bus safety across the region.
No citations had been issued in Wednesday’s Marion County crash as of the latest update. Florida Highway Patrol officials said any decision on citations would wait until the investigation is complete. Investigators are expected to review the bus route, the turn movement, driver statements, vehicle positions, camera footage and any witness accounts. The school district said it would base any personnel decision on the official findings. The name of the pickup driver had not been released, and officials had not announced whether speed, impairment, distraction or road conditions were factors.
Witness Lorie Provancher, who said she was driving behind the school bus, described the moments after the crash and said bystanders could not reach the trapped driver before rescue crews arrived. Provancher said the man was calling for help from inside the pickup. “The gentleman was screaming for someone to get him out of his truck,” she said. “All we could do was I was on the phone with 911.” She said she and others tried to reassure him that help was coming. The crash left visible damage to the pickup and brought tow trucks, deputies, firefighters and troopers to the road as traffic was diverted.
The investigation remains open Wednesday night. The next major step is the Florida Highway Patrol’s completed crash report, which the school district said it will review before making any disciplinary decision.
Author note: Last updated May 6, 2026.