Pine View Students OK After School Bus Crash

Pine View School students escaped serious injuries in a school bus crash this morning at Clark Road and Interstate 75.

Steven Wayne Ricks, 65, of Sarasota was driving a Sarasota County Schools bus west on Clark Road at about 8:45 am., approaching the light at I-75 and getting ready to turn on to the on-ramp for I-75. The bus cut across the road in front of a 1999 Dodge Caravan driven by Nicole Angela Richard, 33, of Sarasota, according to Florida Highway Patrol. 

The eastbound Caravan struck the rear right side of the bus, and the van spun facing southeast across both eastbound lanes of Clark Road, according to the Florida Highway Patrol. 

Troopers say that the bus is at fault for not yielding the right of way to the van.

Both Richard and a minor who was a passenger in the van suffered minor injuries and were taken to Doctors Hospital for treatment.

The 31 students on the bus were on their way to school, said Scott Ferguson, spokesman for Sarasota County Schools. Another bus arrived to pick up the students and take them to Pine View, he said.

"They seem to be OK," Ferguson said. "A couple of them have gone to the clinic at the school complaining of headaches and neck pain."