A Florida driver on Tuesday morning crashed head-on into a school bus carrying 19 children while attempting to flee a traffic stop, according to the Sumter County Sheriff’s Office. The driver, identified as 23-year-old Qahiem Williams, then abandoned his damaged vehicle and fled the scene on foot before being apprehended by law enforcement.
Video footage captured the moments of the collision and the subsequent pursuit and arrest of Williams.
Williams allegedly failed to stop for a deputy who initiated a traffic stop around 7:20 a.m. in front of The Villages Intermediate Center. The deputy had observed Williams traveling 17 mph over the posted speed limit on County Road 466. According to authorities, Williams accelerated and sideswiped two vehicles at a traffic light before colliding with the school bus on County Road 103. The impact damaged the axle of Williams’ vehicle.
No children aboard the Sumter County school bus sustained injuries, the sheriff's office confirmed.
Body camera footage shows a deputy pursuing Williams, who had exited the bus after the crash, before he was taken into custody near a Walmart. Williams was medically cleared before being transported to the Sumter County Detention Center.
Williams faces multiple charges, including fleeing or eluding, driving with a suspended license, possession of marijuana, leaving the scene of a crash, resisting an officer, and hit-and-run. He also had two outstanding Sumter County warrants for fleeing or eluding and driving with a suspended license.
Sumter County Sheriff Patrick Breeden stated that Williams has a history of similar behavior and that the community is safer with him in custody. Breeden emphasized his zero-tolerance policy for actions that endanger children.