Two charter buses crashed early Monday morning forcing the temporary closure of Interstate 75 in Alachua County.
Alberto Angulo, 52, of Orlando was driving a fully loaded charter bus northbound on I-75 in the center lane at 2:50 a.m., while Rafael Rivera, 61, of Orlando was driving a fully loaded charter bus on the outside lane of I-75, preparing to exit the highway in order to go to the northbound rest area according to a Florida Highway Patrol accident report.
The report stated that River saw a “blue or black vehicle” that exited the highway to head toward the northbound rest area in front of him, but the “phantom vehicle” cut back onto the interstate at the last minute, in which Angulo changed lanes to follow Rivera into the rest area.
Rivera slammed on his brakes, causing the front bumper of Angulo’s bus to collide with the rear bumper of Rivera’s bus, the report stated.
An unknown number of passengers were transported to Shands UF Hospital due to minor injuries. All lanes were reopened at 4:59 a.m. and the charges are pending.
