OCALA, Fla. (AP) — The Florida Highway Patrol has arrested the driver of a pickup truck that crashed into a farmworker bus early Tuesday, killing eight, on charges of driving under the influence-manslaughter.
Bryan Maclean Howard faces eight counts of DUI-Manslaughter, the FHP said in a statement. No further details were released, including what substance allegedly left Howard impaired.
Troopers said he was driving the 2001 Ford Ranger when it crossed into the center line on State Road 40, a straight but somewhat hilly two-lane road that passes through horse farms. The truck sideswiped the bus, causing it to veer off the road at about 6:40 a.m. It crashed through a fence and into a tree before overturning. In addition to the eight killed, at least 40 were injured.
It was not immediately known if Howard has an attorney.
The accident happened in Marion County, about 80 miles (130 kilometers) north of Orlando. The workers had been headed to Cannon Farms in Dunellon, which has been harvesting watermelons. The bus ended up on its side, with its windows smashed and its emergency rear door and top hatch open. The truck came to a stop at the side of the road, with its air bag blown and extensive damage to the driver's side.
Federal statistics show that vehicle crashes were the leading cause of job-related deaths among farmworkers in 2022, the latest year available. They accounted for 81 of 171 fatalities. It was not immediately not known if the bus had seat belts.
Authorities in several states have been pushing for greater regulations for the safety of farmworkers, who are overwhelmingly migrants. It is unknown if all the workers on the bus were migrants. The Mexican consulate in Orlando said it was making help available to any of the workers who are from its country.
The Labor Department announced new seat belt requirements for employer vehicles used for farmworkers on temporary visas, among other worker protections that take effect June 28. The Florida Fruit & Vegetable Association has been opposed, calling the seat belt requirement “impractical.”
State law requires seat belts for farmworker transport using smaller vehicles, weighing less than 10,000 pounds.
“We will be closed today out of respect to the losses and injuries endured early this morning in the accident that took place to the Olvera Trucking Harvesting Corp.,” Cannon Farms announced on its Facebook page. “Please pray with us for the families and the loved ones involved in this tragic accident. We appreciate your understanding at this difficult time.”
Cannon Farms describes itself as a family-owned operation that has farmed its land for more than 100 years. The company now focuses on peanuts and watermelons, which it sends to grocery stores across the U.S. and Canada. It is about 8 miles (13 kilometers) from the crash site.
No one answered the phone at Olvera Trucking on Tuesday afternoon. The company recently advertised for a temporary driver who would bus workers to watermelon fields and then operate harvesting equipment. The pay was $14.77 an hour.
A Labor Department document shows Olvera recently applied for 43 H-2A workers to harvest watermelons at Cannon Farms this month. The company again offered a base rate of $14.77 an hour, with promises of housing and transportation to and from the fields.
The H-2A program allows U.S. employers or agents who meet certain regulatory requirements to bring foreign nationals into the country to fill temporary agricultural jobs. The program has been surging for years as domestic workers became more and more difficult to find.
A growing share of H-2A workers are being employed not by individual farmers, but by farm labor contractors, according to a report by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Contractors lease their workers’ services to area farmers.
In fiscal year 2023, Florida drew the largest number of H-2A workers in the nation, at nearly 52,000, according to federal data. Georgia employers hired the third-most H-2A workers last year, with 37,500.
Andres Sequera, a director of mission and ministry for AdventHealth hospitals, told reporters that the injured workers who could be visited by chaplains “were in good spirits for what they have been through.”
“We were able to provide support, presence, prayer when it was asked of us,” he said.
Two groups that advocate for farmworkers issued statements calling for stricter laws to protect them from harm.
“It is too easy to dismiss this as just another accident,” said Asia Clermont, Florida director for the League of United Latin American Citizens. “Florida must take every possible step to protect its essential workers, who are human beings and the backbone of the state’s economy.”
Ty Joplin of the Coalition of Immokalee Workers said transportation laws for farmworkers are often unenforced.
“While accidents will happen, protecting workers while transporting them with mandatory and enforceable safety provisions, like seat belts and safety inspections, can reduce injuries and deaths,” he said.
Reports of worker abuse in the form of wage theft and illegal recruitment fees are widespread in H-2A workforces. To curb those abuses, the U.S. Department of Labor enacted updated H-2A regulations that aim to increase worker protections. The bulk of the regulations, which go into effect next month, seek to increase the transparency and fairness of H-2A contracts.
But also included in the new regulations is a requirement that employers equip the vehicles they use to take workers to and from the fields with seat belts.
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Spencer reported from Fort Lauderdale. Atlanta Journal-Constitution staff writer Lautaro Grinspan contributed to this article.
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This story has been updated to correct the spelling of Andres Sequera's last name.
