An Ocala bus driver and her 48 passengers – mostly children – escaped serious injuries Thursday morning when a charter bus was hit by a Nissan SUV in Alachua County.
Barbara Mittendorf, 63, who drives for Annett Bus Lines, had her bus sitting at a stop sign at the intersection of County Road 234 and U.S. Hwy. 441 when the accident occurred. The left rear side of the stopped bus was struck by a 2016 Nissan Rogue driven by 18-year-old Amanda Escalante, of Miami, as she attempted to make a right turn onto CR 234, a Florida Highway Patrol report states. Escalante was cited in the incident, which occurred shortly before 8:30 a.m.
One person on the charter bus suffered minor injuries but no one was transported to the hospital, the FHP report says.
