Winter Haven – A 16-year-old student and a 26-year-old commuter were killed in a multi-vehicle crash involving a school bus in Polk County.
The morning began with a routine drive for hundreds on Lucerne Park Road, but by 6:00 a.m. Monday, the scene on State Road 544 had descended into wreckage. A 16-year-old Winter Haven High School student. Adinaluz Prieto Oyola. was on her way to what should have been her first cheerleading practice of the season. She never arrived.
Polk Sheriff Grady Judd recounted the sequence of events Tuesday. describing how a white Chevy Malibu veered across yellow lines. clipping the rear of a school bus. The impact forced the bus into the opposing westbound lane, where it slammed head-on into an oncoming Jeep. A fourth vehicle then struck the Malibu. The driver of the Jeep, 26-year-old Deshawn Smith of Haines City, was killed instantly while driving to work.
Superintendent Fred Heid. who spoke with the families of the victims. called the ordeal the most difficult conversation of his 14-year career. The loss of Oyola has left the school district reeling. as classmates and strangers alike were forced into a fight for survival within the twisted metal of the bus.
While the investigation remains active. the Sheriff confirmed that 23-year-old Maria Mondragon Jimenez of Haines City. the driver of the Malibu. was heading to work as a nursing student at the time. Officials have ruled out cell phone usage as a distraction, noting the device was last active at 6:02 a.m. before being used to dial 911 following the impact. While no criminal charges are currently pending. Judd noted that civil charges remain a possibility depending on the findings of the traffic homicide unit.
Amidst the chaos, moments of humanity emerged from the wreckage. Bus driver Jessica Lynn Dye. 34. is credited with acting with precision; despite the collision. she managed to unpin herself to aid the 37 students on board. including her own 9-year-old daughter. Over 100 emergency personnel from agencies including the Polk County Sheriff’s Office. Winter Haven Fire. Winter Haven Police. Haines City Police. and Polk County Fire Rescue descended on the site. Of the 35 patients transported to facilities including Advent Health Heart of Florida. Lakeland Regional Health Medical Center. Winter Haven Hospital. and Arnold Palmer Children’s Hospital. three remain hospitalized but are expected to recover.
Student passengers themselves became first responders. Heid pointed to footage showing two bystanders and four students attempting to extract the unresponsive Oyola from the bus. One student was captured on audio promising, ‘Don’t worry, I won’t leave you,’ as they worked to reach her. It is a sobering reflection of the crash’s sudden intensity that even as first responders coordinated a massive effort. it was these teenagers and passersby who first moved toward the danger to help those trapped inside.
Winter Haven crash Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd school bus accident traffic fatality Adinaluz Prieto Oyola Deshawn Smith