MARION COUNTY, Fla. — A Marion County judge has rejected a request from attorneys of the man accused of hitting a bus full of migrant farm workers last May, causing eight deaths, to have the suspect undergo a neurological exam.
Prosecutors say Bryan Howard was driving while high on a combination of marijuana oil and prescription drugs, including Klonopin and Lyrica, that he consumed the night before they say he sideswiped the bus as it took the migrants to a watermelon farm to work.
Dozens of workers on visas from Mexico were on the bus.
Videos showed them stunned and pulling each other out of the wreckage.
Howard’s attorneys asked for the $20,000 exam and testimony from the expert witness as part of their defense that Howard had been affected by a second crash he got into eight days prior.
The request cited his erratic driving and nonsensical speech, among other reasons.
The judge called out the attorneys for the lack of evidence showing Howard was affected by the prior crash and the lack of proof he had prescriptions for the drugs he claimed to consume.
In one footnote, the judge called an assertion that Howard’s driving abilities leading up to the crash were affected by a combination of the crashes “absurdity.” The judge said there was no evidence that the exam or testimony would help the defense at trial.
WFTV reached out to Howard’s attorneys for comment. The trial is scheduled to begin in September.
Click here to download our free news, weather and smart TV apps. And click here to stream Channel 9 Eyewitness News live.
©2025 Cox Media Group
