SARASOTA COUNTY, Fla. — A Sarasota County school bus driver died after experiencing a "medical event" and crashing into cars in a Publix parking lot, Florida Highway Patrol said.
It happened just after 9 a.m. Friday on southbound U.S. 41 near Blackburn Point Road. According to authorities, the 59-year-old man from North Port was driving the school bus down U.S. 41 approaching the Blackburn Point Road.
As he approached the intersection, FHP said the man suffered a medical event which caused him to leave the road, drive over the grassy shoulder and into the Publix Supermarket parking lot on S. Tamiami Trail in Osprey.
Once in the parking lot, the school bus crashed into three other cars as it continued to travel. The school bus driver was rushed to the hospital where he died.
No children were inside the school bus when the crash happened, the Sarasota County Sheriff's Office said. No other injuries were reported.