MARIANNA — A man is in critical condition after crashing into a stopped school bus at a bus stop Friday afternoon.
Two bus passengers were taken to the hospital for possible injuries.
William Scott Blackburn, 42, ran into the back of a school bus as it was stopping to drop off students on County 165 at Georgia Road, a Florida Highway Patrol news release states. Blackburn was taken to Tallahassee Memorial Hospital in critical condition and two passengers on the Jackson County school bus were transported to Jackson Hospital for possible injuries.
Blackburn had not been wearing a seatbelt, the release states. FHP is investigating the incident and charges are pending. Alcohol was not involved in the crash, FHP said.
The bus had been driving north in the northbound lane when it stopped to unload students, the release states. Blackburn, who was driving a 2004 Mercury Grand Marquis, was traveling behind the bus and failed to slow down, crashing the front end of the vehicle into the rear end of the bus.
School bus driver Orenza Waddell, 52, was not injured, the release states. The bus sustained $20,000 in damage.