Nearly 30 students stuck on school bus for hours after semi-truck fire shuts down Florida’s Turnpike

A semi-truck fire shut down Florida’s Turnpike in Lauderhill for hours during Wednesday morning rush hour, officials say, leaving a Broward school bus stranded in traffic with close to 30 students inside.

The truck’s trailer caught on fire a little after 6 a.m., according to Lauderhill Deputy Fire Chief Jeff Levy. No one was injured.

The fire closed down all southbound lanes of Florida’s Turnpike and took about two hours to extinguish, Levy said. At one point, Florida Highway Patrol opened up the shoulder to drivers so they could have a partial lane of travel.

A Broward School District bus on its way to drop off 29 students arrived hours late as a result of the traffic, the school district said.

Students at Nova Blanche Forman Elementary School, Nova Eisenhower Elementary School, Nova Middle School and Nova High School arrived about 11 a.m. after sitting on the Turnpike for two hours, between 8:37 a.m. and 10:37 a.m, according to a district spokesperson.

A note from a school principal to parents indicated that multiple school buses were delayed, but only one bus was involved, according to the district.

“Please be aware that there are late buses this morning due to traffic on the turnpike,” Jill Martinez, the office manager at Nova Eisenhower Elementary, wrote in an email to parents a little before 11:30 a.m. “Some buses still have not arrived as of 11:15 a.m.”

The cause of the fire is unknown, and was not preceded by a crash, Levy said. The trailer was full of what appeared to be hurricane supplies, including new generators and cases of water.

“You name it, it was there,” he said.

Sunrise Fire Rescue and Tamarac Fire Rescue also responded to the fire.