Accused Driver In Fatal FL Bus Crash Faces New Charges, Records Show

OCALA, FL — The driver accused in a Marion County crash that killed eight farmworkers and injured 45 others earlier this month now faces additional charges of driving while impaired, jail records show.

Authorities have charged Bryan Maclean Howard, 41, on suspicion of 11 counts of driving under the influence with serious bodily injury to another, Marion County Jail records show.

The new charges are in addition to eight counts of driving under the influence-manslaughter of which Howard was initially charged. He continues to be incarcerated without bond, jail records show.

Howard has pleaded not guilty and has waived an arraignment set for June, the Associated Press reported Tuesday.

RELATED: 8 Manslaughter Charges Filed In FL Bus Crash: 8 Dead, 45 Workers Hurt

Authorities identified Howard as the driver of a 2001 Ford Ranger pickup truck that sideswiped a 2010 International bus transporting about 53 people to a Dunellon watermelon farm around 6:35 a.m. on May 14, at West Highway 40. The bus then went through a fence, hit a tree and overturned.

Howard, who reportedly had bloodshot and watery eyes, acknowledged to troopers that he smoked marijuana oil the night before the fatal crash and had taken three prescription medications before bed, WESH 2 reported, citing an arrest report.

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The farm workers were traveling to Cannon Farms in Dunnellon, where they intended to harvest watermelon, the Associated Press reported. Dunnellon is about 80 miles northwest of Orlando.

Howard was reportedly headed to a methadone clinic, where he is administered medicine for a chipped vertebrae.

He reportedly told troopers he was carefully driving at the time of Tuesday's crash. However, troopers said Howard "wrapped his mother's car around a tree" in an attempt to avoid an animal in his path, WESH 2 reported.

RELATED: Driver In Fatal Bus Crash Was In Another Wreck 3 Days Before: Report

Troopers conducted a series of DUI tests on Howard before arresting him, WESH 2 reported, also noting Howard's extensive arrest record which included charges of careless driving, driving without a license and leaving the scene of a crash.

Three days before the fatal bus crash, Howard was involved in another crash, NBC News previously reported.

Jail records show Howard is due in court on June 18 for the initial charges of DUI-manslaughter, and is set to appear in court a week later regarding the new charges.