Man charged in farmworker bus crash told police he smoked pot oil, took medication hours before

The man criminally charged in Tuesday’s crash that killed eight farmworkers and injured 40 more in Marion County told investigators he smoked a marijuana pen and took prescription medication hours before slamming his truck into the bus, according to an arrest affidavit.

Meanwhile, several farmworkers who rode the bus told the Tampa Bay Times that it wasn’t equipped with seat belts.

Bryan Maclean Howard, 41, is facing eight counts of DUI manslaughter in connection with the crash. He was denied bond during his first appearance in court Wednesday, and he later entered a written plea of not guilty.

The bus and truck crashed at about 6:40 a.m. Tuesday near Ocala. Florida Highway Patrol troopers say Howard drove a 2001 Ford Ranger across the center line on State Road 40, a two-lane road that passes through horse farms. Howard’s truck sideswiped the bus, causing it to veer off the road and strike two fences and a tree before overturning, the affidavit states.

According to Howard’s arrest affidavit, the first trooper to arrive at the scene found Howard stuck in the driver’s seat of his truck. He was the only occupant and was described as being “non-responsive,” the affidavit states.

Howard was taken to AdventHealth hospital in Ocala. When troopers evaluated him for impairment, they observed he had bloodshot and watery eyes and that his speech was slurred, the affidavit states.

During an interview with investigators, Howard said he was “hanging out with a friend” who had a medical marijuana card, and the two smoked marijuana oil from a vape pen the night before. He said he took Klonopin and Lyrica — two anti-seizure medications — and Clonidine, a drug used to treat high blood pressure, before going to bed between 11:30 p.m. and midnight.

Howard said he woke up at 5 a.m. and left his parents’ house, where he lives, around 6:30 a.m. He was on his way to a methadone clinic in Ocala, where he went on a daily basis for a chipped vertebra in his back, the affidavit states.

When asked about the crash, Howard said he did not remember how it happened. He told investigators he was driving “very carefully” because he was involved in a separate crash three days prior, when he “wrapped his mother’s car around a tree” while trying to avoid an animal that ran out in front him.

After Tuesday’s crash, bystanders helped Howard get out of the truck. One person showed him that he was involved in a crash with a bus. Howard said he could not remember which part of his truck hit the bus, and he was not aware of any injuries that the bus passengers sustained. He said all he knew was that there was “a bunch of Spanish people” on the bus, the affidavit states.

“When asked about the crash, Howard could not explain how he came to be traveling in the wrong lane,” the affidavit states. “He denied passing any vehicles or being cut off by another vehicle.”

A witness later told investigators that she saw Howard’s truck “failing to maintain its lane of travel,” the affidavit states.

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Investigators informed Howard they would be conducting a DUI investigation. When they asked him about any physical problems or limitations, he told them he was sore and his left foot hurt from the crash three days before. He also said he was having a hard time “quickly processing things mentally,” according to the affidavit.

Howard performed poorly on sobriety tests, and he was placed under arrest at 1:47 p.m. Breath tests for alcohol came back negative. He also provided a blood sample at the hospital.

The affidavit identified six of the eight farmworkers who died in the crash. They are:

• Evarado Ventura Hernandez, 30
• Cristian Salazar Villeda, 24
• Alfredo Tovar Sanchez, 20
• Isaias Miranda Pascal, 21
• Jose Heriberto Fraga-Acosta, 27
• Manuel Perez Rios, 46

During a teleconference from the Marion County jail Wednesday morning, Howard told a judge that he’s a self-employed painter and drywall installer with $700 in the bank, no other assets and no dependents. Howard’s head was bandaged, and he wore a protective gown typically given to inmates on suicide watch. The judge denied bond, appointed a public defender and set Howard’s next court appearance for next month.

Howard has a criminal record in Marion County that stretches back to 2009 and includes charges of careless driving, driving with a suspended or revoked license and leaving the scene of a crash. Records show he also has faced charges of dealing in stolen property, grand theft and marijuana possession.

His last Marion County arrest was in 2021, when he was charged with driving with a suspended license with three or more prior convictions, records show. Prosecutors ultimately dropped the charge.

Howard’s parents did not respond to phone calls and emails Wednesday. The Times contacted other relatives and possible associates of Howard’s but did not receive a response.

The bus, provided by Olvera Trucking Harvesting Corp., was carrying 53 people to Cannon Farms, a family-owned operation in Dunnellon that sends watermelons to grocery stores across the U.S. and Canada. The farm was closed Wednesday “out of respect to the losses and injuries” from Tuesday’s crash, according to a Facebook post.

Several farmworkers who were on the bus when it crashed told the Tampa Bay Times that the trip from the Days Inn in Gainesville to Connors Farm in Marion County was routine. The bus was traveling the speed limit. The windows were open. All seemed fine until the truck veered into the path of the bus. Seven of the passengers told the Times that the bus didn’t have seat belts.

The Labor Department announced new seat belt requirements for employer vehicles used for farmworkers on temporary visas, among other worker protections that take effect June 28. Florida law already requires seat belts for farmworker transport using smaller vehicles weighing less than 10,000 pounds. The Florida Fruit & Vegetable Association has been opposed to the new federal seat belt requirement, calling it “impractical.”

No one answered the phone at Olvera Trucking after the crash. The company recently advertised for a temporary driver who would shuttle workers to watermelon fields and then operate harvesting equipment at $14.77 an hour.

A Labor Department document shows Olvera also recently applied for 43 H-2A workers to harvest watermelons at Cannon Farms this month, again at a base rate of $14.77 an hour, with promises of housing and transportation to and from the fields.

Alicia Bárcena, Mexico’s foreign relations secretary, said via the social media platform X late Tuesday that all eight people killed were in the U.S. on H-2A farmworker visas. Florida farms use about 50,000 H-2A workers each year, more than any other state, according to the Florida Fruit & Vegetable Association.

The H-2A program allows U.S. employers or agents who meet certain regulatory requirements to bring foreign nationals into the country to fill temporary agricultural jobs. Getting to and from the fields can be hazardous: Federal statistics show vehicle crashes were the leading cause of job-related deaths among farmworkers in 2022, the latest year available. They accounted for 81 of 171 fatalities.

Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador said Wednesday morning that 44 of the farmworkers on the bus were Mexican citizens hired to work on the watermelon farm under temporary or seasonal visas.

The Mexican consulate in Orlando was working to provide support at the AdventHealth Ocala hospital, where many of the injured were taken.

Andres Sequera, a director of mission and ministry for AdventHealth hospitals, said chaplains were visiting the injured workers, and they “were in good spirits for what they have been through.”

“We were able to provide support, presence, prayer when it was asked of us,” Sequera told reporters.

A GoFundMe campaign organized by the Farmworker Association of Florida to support the crash victims and their families had raised over $53,000 of an $80,000 goal by Wednesday afternoon.

“Farmworkers tend to be forgotten, but it’s important not to forget farmworkers, especially during such difficult times,” the post said.

Two advocacy groups called for stricter laws and enforcement to protect farmworkers.

“It is too easy to dismiss this as just another accident,” said Asia Clermont, Florida director for the League of United Latin American Citizens. “Florida must take every possible step to protect its essential workers, who are human beings and the backbone of the state’s economy.”

Ty Joplin of the Coalition of Immokalee Workers said transportation laws for farmworkers are often unenforced.

“While accidents will happen, protecting workers while transporting them with mandatory and enforceable safety provisions, like seat belts and safety inspections, can reduce injuries and deaths,” he said.

Times staff writers Justin Garcia and Chris Tisch contributed to this report, which contains material from The Associated Press.