Gainesville police officer seriously injured after patrol SUV rear-ends Marion County school bus

A Gainesville police officer was seriously injured Friday morning after his marked patrol SUV crashed into the rear of a stopped Marion County school bus in Ocala, according to preliminary information from authorities.The crash happened around 6:55 a.m. at Southwest 49th Avenue Road and Southwest 82nd Place Road. The bus was southbound in the outside lane with its flashing lights activated and stop signs extended as it prepared to pick up students.What happenedAn off-duty Gainesville Police Department officer, driving his assigned marked Ford Explorer, was traveling southbound behind the bus. Investigators said the officer failed to see the stopped bus, and the front of the patrol vehicle struck the bus’s rear.The bus was serving Hammett Bowen Jr. Elementary School, according to Marion County Public Schools.InjuriesThere were 12 students aboard, along with the 37-year-old bus driver and a 54-year-old bus aide. A 9-year-old student, the driver and the aide were taken to AdventHealth Oca