Tractor-Trailer Hits Stopped School Bus on US-301 North of Dade City, Four Hurt

A tractor-trailer slammed into a Pasco County school bus that was stopped to load children on US Highway 301 near Desrosier Road Tuesday morning, injuring four people just north of Dade City on a stretch of road local families drive every school day.

The Florida Highway Patrol said the bus was stopped southbound in the outside lane with its red lights flashing and stop arm extended when a 42-year-old St. Petersburg man driving a southbound semi failed to see it in time. He swerved left, according to troopers, and struck the right rear of a 2026 Hyundai Tucson that had stopped behind the bus, then hit the left rear of the bus itself.

Two children and adults on the bus were hurt. A 13-year-old boy and a 22-year-old Dade City woman, both bus passengers, were taken to the hospital with what FHP described as minor injuries. In the Hyundai, a 26-year-old Zephyrhills woman was also taken to the hospital with minor injuries, while the 29-year-old Zephyrhills man driving the car was hurt but not transported. Neither the truck driver nor the 43-year-old Wesley Chapel man driving the bus was injured.

FHP has not said whether the truck driver will face charges. Troopers also have not released the names of anyone involved.

US-301 through this part of east Pasco carries a steady mix of commuter traffic, farm equipment and commercial trucks headed between Dade City and Zephyrhills, and school buses make frequent stops along it during morning and afternoon runs. Florida law requires drivers in both directions to stop for a bus with its red lights flashing and stop arm extended, except on divided highways with a physical median. The Desrosier Road intersection sits on a straight, high-speed section of the highway where FHP said the bus was stopped in the outside lane, meaning oncoming and following traffic in that lane was required to stop as well.

The Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles has repeatedly flagged illegal bus passing as a persistent problem statewide, and Pasco County Schools has previously asked drivers to slow down and watch for bus stops on rural highway segments where visibility and speed both work against reaction time. Tuesday's crash did not involve a driver passing the bus, but a driver who told troopers he did not see it stopped ahead of him in time to brake.

Investigators have not said what happens next in the case or whether additional citations are expected. Parents with children who ride buses along US-301 can check route and stop information through the district's transportation office.

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