A Plant City woman was critically injured when her vehicle was struck by a bus on June 5.
A June 5 vehicle crash at the intersection of Interstate 4 and Alexander Street sent one woman to the hospital and one man to jail.
According to Plant City Police Department's report, a school bus, driven by Tomas Martinez-Olivera, was traveling southbound on N. Alexander St. and ran a red light at the intersection. A two-door Volvo, driven by Alyssa Copeland, entered the intersection from the eastbound exit ramp on a green light and was struck by the bus. The bus hit the Volvo's driver's side door and front fender, sending both vehicles out of control to the southwest.
Martinez-Olivera and the 53 passengers of the bus were not injured. Copeland, the lone occupant of the Volvo, suffered serious injuries. Plant City Fire Rescue and Florida Highway Patrol assisted PCPD personnel at the scene.
According to EMS division chief Jim Wilson, of PCFR, Copeland, who was pregnant, was airlifted to Tampa General Hospital after a rescue crew freed her from the wreckage. It was determined at the hospital that Copeland's unborn baby was killed in the crash. A GoFundMe page created to benefit Copeland and her family had raised over $11,000 by the afternoon of June 9.
Per the PCPD report, Martinez-Olivera provided an invalid Mexico Commercial Driver's License and an expired personal driver's license at the scene. He was arrested on charges of No Valid Driver's License with Serious Bodily Injury and Operating a Commercial Vehicle Without a Commercial Driver's License. He was later placed into federal custody on an ICE hold when it was found that his personal work visa had expired in April.
The PCPD investigation into the incident is still ongoing.
