1 killed and 16 injured in Florida crash involving a semitruck, bus and pickup

A three-vehicle collision on a central Florida highway Wednesday morning resulted in one death and 16 injuries, authorities said.

The crash occurred about 6:15 a.m. on State Route 60 in Osceola County, according to the Osceola County Fire Rescue and EMS and a department spokesperson.

“The crash involved a semi, transit bus, and pickup truck. More than a dozen victims are involved, and the response will likely close SR 60 for several hours,” county fire officials said in a statement posted on its Facebook page.

In total, 16 people, 14 of whom had injuries that were not considered life-threatening, were transported to hospitals in several counties, officials said.

Two people with critical injuries were airlifted in helicopters for medical treatment, officials said.

One person died on scene, according to Osceola County Fire spokesperson Andrew Sullivan. The identity of the deceased person was not released by authorities.

Sullivan said most of the people who were injured were on board the transit bus. Sullivan was unsure of the status of any traffic delays about 10:30 a.m. Wednesday.

Sullivan said the Florida Highway Patrol is investigating.

The highway patrol said the crash involved a 2017 Dodge Ram, 2007 Mitsubishi Box Truck and a Motor Coach.

According to the highway patrol, the person who died was described as a 52-year-old male passenger in the Dodge Ram. He was from Port St. Lucie.

The collision occurred as the pickup was headed westbound and the box truck was headed eastbound, the highway patrol said.

A witness told investigators the pickup attempted to pass another vehicle, and while doing so drove onto the eastbound lane in a direct path toward the box truck. When the pickup and box truck swerved, the Ram struck the box truck which was directly in front of a Motor Coach that could not avoid the collision, the highway patrol said.

The highway patrol described the conditions at the time of the crash as "foggy and dark."

There were 23 passengers aboard the Motor Coach, the highway patrol said, who are inmates with the Florida Department of Corrections. They were traveling to a work-release program in Okeechobee.