7 Students Injured In Manatee School Bus Crash

ELLENTON, FL -- Seven students were taken to Manatee Memorial Hospital Thursday with minor injuries after their school bus was struck by a Chrysler minivan, Florida Highway Patrol said Thursday night.

The Manatee School Bus was carrying 62 students at the time of the crash around 8:25 a.m. in the parking loft of Covered Bridge Estates. Troopers described the crash as minor.

The driver of the Chrysler Town & Country, identified as 67-year-old Clarisse Maze of Davenport, Florida, was cited for careless driving.

FHP said the minivan was traveling west in the parking lot of Covered Bridge Estates east of Shenandoah Circle while the bus was parked facing west in the parking lot. The bus driver was identified as 54-year-old Minnie Parrish of Ellenton.

It was not immediately clear whether the bus had its flashing lights on at the time of the crash. The right side of the 2013 minivan struck the left side of the school bus.

In January, an SUV crashed into a Manatee County school bus. None of the three children aboard the bus at that time were injured but a 76-year-old Lakewood Ranch man was critically injured in the SUV.

A 46-year-old Bradenton woman aboard the bus suffered minor injuries but was not taken to the hospital in the January crash.