Eastbound I-4 Traffic Snarled By Bus Crash

Shortly after 11:00 a.m. this morning, Dec. 3, a bus crashed and forced the closure of all Eastbound lanes of Interstate 4 near the juntion with Interstate 75.

According to the Florida Highway Patrol, the crash occured at 11:09 a.m. A bus owned by First Baptist Church of College Hill, of Tampa, was traveling eastbound on Interstate 4 in the center lane when the driver lost control of the bus, FHP said. Martin Rufus Silas, Jr. of Taylor Road in Seffner, lost control of the bus due "to a medical event," FHP said.

Accoding to a media release from FHP, "the bus veered to the left, then right until the bus collided with a crash attenuator located at the entrance ramp to the eastbound FDOT weigh station."

After the crash, the bus caught fire and the driver suffered minor injuries as a result of the crash. He was taken to Tampa General Hospital.

The crash closed the eastbound lanes of Interstate 4 from the Interstate 75 junction. 

Shortly after 1 p.m., all lanes on I-4 were opened. However, traffic remained backed up throughout the area.