LAKE BUTLER, Fla. -- At least seven people were reported killed this afternoon when a Union County school bus, a tractor-trailer and a van crashed.
According to the Florida Highway Patrol, the crash occurred just after 3:30 p.m. on state Road 121, four miles south of Lake Butler.
None of the fatalities were students on the bus, but FHP Lt. Bill Leeper said some of the victims in the van were children.
Channel 4 has learned that the school bus transporting nine students was stopped to let kids off. A van stopped behind the bus was rear-ended by the tractor-trailer. The van and the semi bust into flames.
In addition to the dead, between 15 and 20 people were hurt -- at least three reported to have life-threatening injuries. Air ambulances were launched from Jacksonville and Lake City, taking three patients from the trauma center at Shands-Jacksonville Medical Center.
Rescue personnel from Union and Alachua counties responded, and those from Columbia County were on standby.
A resident in the area said the big rig was moving a high speed when it "ran over" the van and struck the bus. The van had several people inside.
"It's a dangerous road -- it's one lane going and one lane coming -- and they fly through here every day," Jason Wilson said. "I've lived here about seven years and I've witnessed over half a dozen fatalities out there."
The Union County School Board told Channel 4 that they could not immediately say which students were on the bus, as each of their buses carry students from more than one school.
There are three schools in the county -- one elementary, one middle and one high school.
WJXT has crews at the scene and Shands-Gainesville. Channel 4's Scott Johnson said that state Road 121 is a rural, two-lane road, and weather was not a factor in the crash.
Copyright 2006 by News4Jax.com. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
News stories provided by third parties are not edited by "Site Publication" staff. For suggestions and comments, please click the Contact link at the bottom of this page.
