APOPKA, Fla. — The 18-year-old driver of a Ford Mustang who crashed into the side of a Lynx Access bus in Apopka in November said he was driving the speed limit when the bus turned into his path.
Denis Maldonado Reyes’ account of the crash differs from the report troopers who investigated the crash submitted. They estimated his speed at 90 miles per hour in a 45-mile-per-hour zone.
“It was 50 and he was going that,” Reyes’ younger brother relayed as he translated for the teen, who had stated the incorrect speed limit.
Reyes said he swerved when the bus turned as he approached the intersection of Rock Springs Road and Alexandria Place Drive, but not enough to avoid the 12,000-pound vehicle. His 17-year-old friend and passenger took the brunt of the impact and spent weeks in the hospital.
Troopers had long believed speed was a factor in the crash based on the damage to both vehicles. They have since ruled out drugs, alcohol and distracted driving as factors.
A private traffic investigator hired by Lynx, who was taking measurements of the scene the day after the crash, said there was no way the Mustang was driving the speed limit due to the distance the bus was pushed down the road following the crash.
Reyes, when asked if he had anything he wanted to tell the families of 81-year-old Jerry Earl and 94-year-old Aida Maldonado, said he was sorry. He added that he hurt more for them than his own, still visible injuries.
At the end of his interview, Reyes said he was knocked unconscious by the crash and does not fully remember what happened that night.
A traffic homicide investigation is underway and expected to take at least another month to wrap up.
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