Driver flees ambulance crash, then runs into bus full of students, Florida cops say

A hit-and-run investigation involving an ambulance was quickly solved when the same driver ran into a school bus carrying 35 students, according to Florida investigators.

The suspect, a man visiting from New York, is accused of driving while intoxicated, the Martin County Sheriff’s Office said in a news release.

Both crashes happened Tuesday, Jan. 30, on Kanner Highway outside Stuart, resulting in at least one person being hospitalized, officials said. Stuart is about 105 miles north of Miami.

“The ambulance didn’t stop him, but the school bus did. Fortunately, no children were injured,” the sheriff’s office said.

“(He) got out of his car at the scene of the crash and didn’t know where he was. But deputies searching for (his) car knew where he’d been because he crashed into an ambulance and fled the scene earlier in the day.”

Witnesses also helped connect the vehicle to both crashes, officials said.

A photo shared on Facebook by the sheriff’s office shows the vehicle was heavily damaged, with one of its front wheels disintegrated.

The 43-year-old driver was taken to a hospital but details of his injuries were not released. He has been charged with “DUI with property damage, leaving the scene of a crash, and leaving the scene of a crash with injuries,” officials said.

The bus driver was also hospitalized for “non-life-threatening injuries” and later discharged, officials said.

This story was originally published February 1, 2024 at 7:21 AM with the headline "Driver flees ambulance crash, then runs into bus full of students, Florida cops say."