Families need help after Florida workers’ bus crash with DUI driver kills 8, injures 37

OCALA, Fla. – Families in need are grieving on Thursday after seven men and a woman from Mexico — who were in central Florida on a temporary work visa — died in a crash on their way to the farm where they worked.

According to the Farmworker’s Association of Florida, a bus full of workers was on its way to a watermelon farm when it collided with a pickup truck at about 6:35 a.m., on Tuesday, in Ocala.

Marion County Fire Rescue reported eight died and 37 were injured. Advocates of farmworkers in Florida attended a vigil in Spanish on Wednesday night in Apopka.

“While I can recall anecdotally a few noteworthy crashes in Florida of epic proportions, this one in Marion County stands out as the worst DUI-related crash for at least this generation,” Larry Coggins, of Mothers Against Drunk Driving, told The Ocala Gazette.

“Farmworkers tend to be forgotten, but it’s important not to forget farmworkers, especially during such difficult times,” Karen Patricio, of the Farmworker’s Association of Florida, wrote in a statement with an ongoing fundraiser.

According to the Florida Highway Patrol, Bryan Maclean Howard, the driver of the 2001 Ford Ranger that struck the bus, told troopers he was driving to a methadone clinic after consuming marijuana oil, Klonopin, Lyrica, and Clonidine.

Martin County officials identified six of the eight victims as Alfredo Tovar, 20; Isaias Miranda, 21; Alfredo Salazar, 24; Jose Fraga, 27; Evarado Ventura, 30; and Manuel Perez, 46.

The victims’ families were trying to find a way to take their remains back to Mexico for Christian burial and to cover medical expenses in Florida. Mexican media reported Ventura and Perez were from the Mexican state of Oaxaca.

Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador announced the owner of the farm that had contracted the workers is Mexican American. Cannon Farms released a statement saying, “Families are hurting and grieving and we just need to pray and support them.”

According to Alicia Barcena, a Mexican foreign relations official who released a statement on X, the eight who died had U.S. H-2A visas for temporary workers.

Mexican diplomats in the U.S. were also involved in trying to help the families of the workers who were allegedly in a Olvera Trucking bus without seatbelts.

“Protecting workers while transporting them with mandatory and enforceable safety provisions, like seat belts and safety inspections, can reduce injuries and deaths,” Ty Joplin, of the Coalition of Immokalee Workers, told The Tampa Bay Times.

FHP troopers arrested Howard, the accused 41-year-old DUI driver, at the Adventhealth Ocala Hospital and he was in the custody of the Martin County Sheriff’s Office on Thursday facing eight counts of driving under the influence manslaughter.

Local10.com’s Orlando-area partner reported Howard had an arrest record:

• May 31, 2006: Leaving the scene of a crash with an unattended vehicle or property.
• Nov. 21, 2009: Possession of cannabis and drug paraphernalia.
• April 18, 2013: Driving with a suspended/revoked license.
• July 4, 2013: Stolen property and grand theft.
• April 2, 2018: Crash results in careless driving charge.
• May 31, 2018: Driving with an expired license.
• Oct. 10, 2018: Driving with a suspended/revoked license.
• Nov. 15, 2018: Driving with a suspended/revoked license.
• Sept. 1, 2019: Leaving the scene of a crash with property damage.
• Sept. 14, 2021: Driving with a suspended/revoked license.