UPDATE: School bus driver charged responsible for accident

Florida Highway Patrol authorities have charged the driver responsible for an accident that injured 21 students from Braden River Middle School yesterday with careless driving.

A FHP report released late last nights states the driver, 68-year-old Charles Robert Orr, became distracted by a student on the bus and failed to stop before crashing into the back of a freightliner stopped at a red light at 66th Street East, heading west on State Road 64.

Upon collision, Orr's leg became pinned in the wreckage, which prevented him from accessing the brake pedal, the report states. The bus continued to roll forward, and Orr steered the bus onto the north shoulder of S.R. 64.

A witness spoke with Orr and took action to stop the bus.

Manatee County Public Schools Superintendent Tim McGonegal has called a press conference regarding the incident for 1 p.m. today in the School Board Chambers at the District's School Support Center, 215 Manatee Ave. W., Bradenton.

Contact Pam Eubanks at [email protected].