MARION COUNTY, Fla. — The driver of a Ford Ranger pickup truck involved in a deadly bus crash in Marion County was arrested Tuesday afternoon.
Bryan Maclean Howard, 41, was charged with eight counts of DUI - Manslaughter for his role in the Tuesday morning bus crash that took the lives of eight farm workers and injured 40 others.
Six of the eight farm workers who died have been identified as 30-year-old Evarado Ventura Hernandez, 24-year-old Cristian Salazar Villeda, 20-year-old Alfredo Tovar Sanchez, 21-year-old Isaias Miranda Pascal, 27-year-old Jose Heriberto Fraga Acosta and 46-year-old Manuel Perez Rios.
A county judge ordered that Howard be held on no bond due to previous criminal history and possible additional charges.
Howard is also not allowed to operate a motor vehicle or consume alcohol or non-prescription drugs while the case is pending.
The Marion County Sheriff's Office said they were called to the scene of the bus crash at 6:37 a.m. Tuesday. The Florida Highway Patrol said the bus was transporting approximately 53 employees of a farming company.
FHP investigators said the two vehicles sideswiped each other and the bus then went off the road, through a fence, and overturned.
"At this point, we are conducting a massive traffic homicide investigation," said Lt. Pat Riordan of the Florida Highway Patrol. "We have a full team, and then some, here on the scene, and our traffic homicide investigation team is some of the best at what they do."
FHP said the investigation into the cause of the deadly crash will not be completed quickly.
"This will be a very long and lengthy investigation," Lt. Riordan said. "With that, I can tell you that it's probably six months at least before we conclude factually what transpired here today."
Marion County Fire Rescue said 38 patients were transported to local area hospitals, eight of whom are in critical condition and 30 with non-life-threatening injuries.
AdventHealth Ocala said Tuesday afternoon that it had received 16 patients at its hospital. The medical organization said two of the patients have been transferred to other facilities, and the other 14 are in the process of being discharged from the hospital.
"My heart pleads for them, my heart goes out to them," said Marion County Sheriff Billy Woods. "I pray the good lord will give them whatever peace that he can to get them through this. And hopefully, and I'm confident, we will have answers for the family to be able to give them closure of why we had this crash today."
According to the Associated Press, the busload of workers was en route to Cannon Farms in Dunnellon, which has been harvesting watermelon in recent weeks.
Cannon Farms closed Tuesday after learning the news and asked the community to pray for the workers and their families.
Juan Sabines, a diplomat with the Mexican Consulate in Orlando, said the workers are from Mexico and were working in the United States using H2-A temporary agricultural visas.
“These are very good people. Young people. The youngest is 18 years old, and the oldest is maybe 40 years old. They stay in this country just for work," he told partner station WFTV.
Meanwhile, the Farm Worker Association of Florida described the workers as the unsung heroes who put food on American tables.
“It’s infuriating that they lost their lives due to negligence," said Karen Patricio with the Farm Worker Association.
Her group and others are still determining what they can do to help the survivors and the family members of the workers killed in this crash.
In the meantime, the Farm Worker Association of Florida has created this GoFundMe page to help the workers and their families.
The group is planning a vigil for Wednesday at 6 p.m. A location has yet to be announced.
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