Mom speaks out after son hospitalized in Lehigh Acres school bus crash

LEHIGH ACRES, Fla. (WINK)—An 11-year-old boy is recovering at home after a school bus crash in Lehigh Acres sent him to the hospital Wednesday.

Angel was on the school bus headed home from Amanecer Elementary when a car hit the bus near Homestead Road and Sunrise Boulevard. Twenty students were on board at the time of the crash.

His mother, Cecilia Ponce, said she received the call every parent dreads.

"For a parent, I think no matter how old your kid is, when you get that call, it's frightening," Ponce said. "I was freaking out. You know, you get a call, and it's like, oh my God."

Angel was sitting on the side of the bus where the car hit. The crash site showed debris scattered across the intersection, the bus tilted and the front end of the car smashed in.

"They did X-rays on him, and he has a contusion on his back, he has a fractured wrist," Ponce said. "He hit his head hard enough to where it got like a little bit of blood on the skull."

While the physical injuries will heal, Ponce said the emotional impact may take longer. Angel now has a fear of riding the bus and even getting in a car.

"It's affecting him a lot now because he has that fear now," Ponce said. "He doesn't want to go to school on the bus anymore. He's scared to even get in the car."

Ponce said her concerns about her son's bus started before this crash. She said she has seen his driver traveling at what she describes as excessive speeds and not always coming to complete stops.

"I don't want other kids to get injured, so something has to get done," Ponce said. "Schools really need to pay attention who they hire to transport our kids to school. It's their safety."

The Lee County School District responded to Ponce's concerns in a statement. The district said parents trust them to safely transport their children and they do not take that trust lightly.

Bus drivers are trained to follow traffic laws and are expected to do so, according to the district. Any report of speeding or other infractions is investigated and can result in discipline if confirmed.

WINK News is waiting for the crash report from the Lee County Sheriff's Office to determine what led up to the crash.