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St. Lucie School Bus Crash Leaves One Child Dead, Five Injured

Posted on Apr 20, 2012

The National Transportation Safety Board (NSTB) is investigating a fatal school bus accident in St. Lucie County.

The Florida school bus accident occurred on March 26, 2012 at 3:50 p.m. The bus, a 2005 International school bus, was carrying 30 students home from Frances K. Sweet Elementary School in Fort Pierce. The driver, 56-year-old Albert Hazen turned left from westbound Okeechobee Road toward Midway Road and into the path of a 1998 Peterbilt semitrailer loaded with sod. The driver of the tractor-trailer could not stop in time. The truck crashed into the school bus and overturned. The bus spun 180 degrees.

One child, 9-year-old Aaron Beauchamp, died in the crash. Fourteen other children were injured. The driver and eleven injured children were taken to Lawnwood Regional Medical Center & Heart Institute in Fort Pierce. One child was taken to St. Lucie Medical Center in Port St. Lucie. Five children were listed in critical condition at St. Mary's Medical Center in West Palm Beach. One child, 11-year-old Joseph Yannucci, was still hospitalized as of April 5. He was in critical, but stable condition. The uninjured children were taken to St. Lucie County's Emergency Operations Center, west of Fort Pierce.

FHP and NSTB are investigating the crash. The preliminary report says that weather and road conditions were not factors in the deadly St. Lucie bus crash. Alcohol and drugs are not considered factors; however, the driver was tested for alcohol. The report blames the accident on driver inattention. No charges will be filed until the investigation is complete.