Sarasota school bus crash damages traffic light

The Seven students on their way to Oak Park School were taken to the hospital this morning after a traffic crash involving a school bus on Proctor Road, the Florida Highway Patrol reported.

The incident took place at Gantt Road around 9:15 a.m.

According to an initial investigation by the FHP, the bus, which was carrying 12 students in addition to an aide and the driver, was heading east on Proctor, approaching Gantt with a green traffic signal ahead.

A westbound Infiniti turned left into the path of the bus. The front of the car hit the right front of the bus. The bus then left the road and hit a traffic-signal pole. 

Seven students were taken to Sarasota Memorial Hospital with minor injuries, the FHP said. Additionally, one of the students suffered from a medical condition unrelated to the crash.

The driver of the car, 69-year-old Michael Rans of Indiana, was taken to SMH with serious injuries. He was also cited with making a left turn in front of oncoming traffic. 

Danny Dunn, the 63-year-old bus driver, was taken to Doctors Hospital with serious injuries, the FHP reported.

Until a traffic light damaged in the accident is fixed, the intersection of Proctor Road and Gantt Road should be treated as a 4-way stop, according to the Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office. Delays at the intersection could reach 15 minutes, so drivers should seek alternate routes.