A Florida school bus carrying 37 high schoolers flipped onto its roof during rush hour Monday after a car crossed the center line and clipped its rear wheels, triggering a chain-reaction crash that killed a 10th-grade girl and the driver of a Jeep that caught fire on impact.

The crash happened around 6:15 a.m. on Lucerne Park Road (State Road 544) in Winter Haven, about 40 miles southwest of Orlando, as the bus carried students to Winter Haven High School, according to the Polk County Sheriff's Office. A westbound white Chevrolet Malibu crossed into the bus's lane and struck it from behind, ripping off a tire and shoving the bus into oncoming traffic, where it slammed head-on into a silver Jeep. The Jeep's driver died at the scene; so did the 10th-grader on the bus.

The bus, identified by authorities as Bus No. 1819, was carrying 37 students, the driver and the driver's 9-year-old daughter — 39 people in all. Of those, 36 survivors were taken to area hospitals: 22 by bus with paramedics aboard, seven by ambulance, three airlifted by helicopter, and four more driven by family members, according to WKMG/ClickOrlando. The bus driver and her daughter were also taken by ambulance. Most of the injured were treated and released the same day; one patient remained in critical condition.

'The Most Horrific Bus Tragedy'

"IT WAS A HORRIBLE CRASH ... A TERRIBLE, TRAGIC MORNING. WE HAD A BEAUTIFUL 10TH GRADE GIRL LOSE HER LIFE."

Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd, visibly shaken at the scene, called it "the most horrific bus tragedy we've had in decades," per CBS News Miami. Investigators had not determined by Monday evening why the Malibu crossed into the bus's lane; the Sheriff's Office said video and 911 recordings had not yet been released, and the National Transportation Safety Board opened a federal safety investigation alongside the local probe.

Polk County Public Schools Superintendent Frederick Heid said students had practiced emergency evacuation drills, which he credited with helping get children off the overturned bus safely. School Board Chairman Justin Sharpless asked the community to rally around the victims' families. Winter Haven High School held classes as scheduled Monday, with grief counselors made available to students and staff.

Questions have already surfaced locally about whether seatbelts could have reduced injuries — Florida law does not require them on large school buses — though the district directed detailed questions about safety equipment and reunification procedures to its public information office rather than answering them directly, according to WFTV.

The Sheriff's Office said it planned to give an updated briefing at 11 a.m. Tuesday with further details on the investigation's progress and possible charges against the Malibu's driver. Neither victim's name had been publicly released by authorities as of the latest briefing, pending family notification.