#BryanMacleanHoward #TheFloridaHighwayPatrol #Ocala #Dunnellon #NewsUpdates #trendingnews #summary

The man accused of killing at least eight people in a bus crash on a Florida highway told investigators he smoked marijuana oil the night before and was in another accident three days earlier, according to an arrest report. Bryan Maclean Howard has been charged with eight counts of driving under the influence manslaughter after authorities say his pickup truck hit a bus and sent it off the road Tuesday morning. According to an arrest report from the Florida Highway Patrol, Howard told an investigator he was hanging out with a friend who had a medical marijuana card Monday night and smoked marijuana oil with him. Before Howard went to bed, he said he also took some prescription medications. On Tuesday, Howard left his parents’ house at around 6:30 a.m. to drive to a methadone clinic in Ocala, Florida, for treatment of a chipped vertebrae in his back, according to the arrest report. Howard said he was driving carefully because he crashed his mother’s car into a tree three days earlier while trying to avoid an animal that ran in front of him, according to the report. Howard’s eyes were bloodshot and watery during the interview with the highway patrol and his speech was thick and slurred, according to the report. After Howard was arrested Tuesday afternoon, a breath test found he had a blood alcohol level of 0.000%. A judge ordered Howard held without bond during a virtual court appearance Wednesday morning. His next court appearance is scheduled for June. A bus that overturned in a fatal crash near Dunnellon, Florida, is seen May 14, 2024

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