Image from bus crash at Midway Road and Okeechobee Road in Fort Pierce involving a school bus. Photo by Alex Boerner

By Laurie K. Blandford, Keona Gardner

ST. LUCIE COUNTY — Grief counselors are on hand Tuesday morning at Frances K. Sweet Elementary School as students come to grips with the death of a 9-year-old classmate and injuries to 14 others less than 24 hours after a school bus crashed into a semitrailer in the western end of the county.

Frances K. Sweet Elementary School student Aaron Beauchamp, of Port St. Lucie, was found dead inside bus No. 2414 Monday afternoon, after bus driver Albert A. Hazen, 56, also of Port St. Lucie turned in front of a semitrailer carrying sod at Okeechobee and Midway Roads in western St. Lucie County, according to a Florida Highway Patrol media release.

About 3:50 p.m. Monday, Hazen, with a school bus of about 30 students from the Fort Pierce-based magnet school, was traveling west in the left bound lane of Okeechobee Road when he attempted a left turn on to Midway Road, the release states.

The bus turned in front of a semitrailer heading east on Okeechobee Road. The front of the truck struck the right rear side of the bus.

The impact spun the bus 180 degrees clockwise and overturned the tractor-trailer, leaving it upside down with its wheels in the air, officials said.

Three students were flown to St. Mary’s Medical Center in West Palm Beach; one in serious condition but nonlife threatening injuries and two in stable condition. One student was flown to Lawnwood Regional Medical Center & Heart Institute in Fort Pierce, the release states.

Ten students and Hazen, who sustained serious injuries, were taken by ambulance to Lawnwood Regional Medical Center & Heart Institute in Fort Pierce, FHP spokesman Lt. Jeff Johnson said. One student was transported via ambulance to St. Lucie Medical Center. These students conditions were not available.

The truck driver, Charles Cooper, 24 of Martinsville, Va., was not injured, the release states. Cooper gathered his belongings from the semitrailer after the accident but declined to comment.

Officials said the semitrailer was in the outside right lane on Okeechobee Road, and Cooper took evasive action by trying to turn to the right and applying brakes.

The school bus was equipped with seat belts but it is unknown if the students were wearing them, Johnson said. The bus also has video installed and troopers are reviewing the footage, he said.

About 16 students were uninjured and taken to the county’s Emergency Operations Center, west of Fort Pierce, according to a St. Lucie County Sheriff’s Office news release.

All of the children had been picked up by their parents by 5:30 p.m. Monday.

The St. Lucie County School District used its phone system to notify parents of the crash, spokeswoman Janice Karst said.

All students who had been traveling on the bus have been accounted for, she said.

It is unknown how long Hazen has been employed with the district. Karst said the school district is conducting its own investigation into the incident.

FHP Homicide Investigator Gottfried Koblitz said he would make recommendations, in a couple months, to the State Attorney’s office regarding charges after he completes a full investigation. The traffic crash report is expected to be available in seven to 10 days.

Staff writer Lamaur Stancil contributed to this report.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, March 27th, 2012 at 8:25 am and is filed under St. Lucie County. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.