By BRAD DICKERSON | Highlands Today

Published: February 24, 2010

LAKE PLACID - The Florida Highway Patrol has released the names of the two people who died after Monday's two-vehicle accident when a tour bus full of senior citizens rolled over after being hit by a car.

John Roy, 79, of Cohasset, Mass., and Joan Horsch, 78, of Abingdon, Va., died after the Sunburst tour bus they were on was hit by a 2010 Mercury Marquis, driven by Betty J. Adams, 81, of Lake Placid, and overturned off U.S. 27, according to the FHP.

Adams was trying to turn left on U.S. 27 from Lake Francis Drive. Lt. Chris Miller, with the FHP, said no charges have been filed at this time pending the outcome of the investigation, which could take 30 days.

Horsch's husband, Dr. Bob Horsch, was critically injured in the accident, according to News 5 WCYB in Abingdon.

They were two of 32 people on the bus. All the other passengers, except for one, had to be taken to area hospitals for treatment of injuries. Three of the victims were in critical condition, while the rest had minimal to serious injuries, the FHP said.

Several were ejected from the bus after the accident.

Twenty-nine of the passengers were between the ages of 66 and 86 and were a part of an educational program that used to be called Elder Hostel and now goes by Exploritas, Norm Stephens, president of South Florida Community College, said.

The others were SFCC staff member Becky Rousch, one volunteer and the bus driver Larry L. Metzger, 69, of Moore Haven, where the tour bus is based.

Rousch was the one who notified SFCC about the accident, Stephens previously said. Attempts to contact her Tuesday were unsuccessful.

The 29 passengers were on the second day of a program called "Discover Old Florida, Hidden in the Heartland," which was coordinated by SFCC, according to an Exploritas statement.

The bus was coming from Lake Placid after a trip to Archbold Biological Station, the Lake Placid murals and the Lake Placid Chamber of Commerce, according to Stephens.

"As you will understand, all of our efforts are focused on providing care and support to the victims of this terrible accident and our thoughts and prayers are with the families of the deceased," said Exploritas president James Moses.

Despina Gakopoulous, public relations for Exploritas, said via e-mail there were no other programs scheduled to operate in the area until October.

Deborah Bell, director of community relations and marketing at SFCC, said Tuesday college officials were working with Exploritas representatives and local authorities to contact victims' families.

"We're spending our day focusing on the individuals involved in the accident," Bell said.

The college could not release the names of the other victims, Bell said. Exploritas could also not provide the names.

Rescue workers from all across Highlands County responded to the accident around 2:20 p.m. Monday.

The shoulder of U.S. 27 could have been mistaken for an ER, as emergency responders tended to more than a dozen victims, who were wearing neck braces and being loaded into ambulances.

Lori Miller, Highlands Regional Medical Center's marketing director, said Monday seven victims were brought there in stable condition.

One person was airlifted to Lee Memorial Hospital in Fort Myers. The victim remained in critical condition Tuesday, according to Pat Dolce, hospital representative.

Three patients were flown directly from the scene to Tampa General Hospital, according to spokesman John Dunn. Another three were later transferred there from other hospitals.

"We had had two other transfer requests that we could not accommodate," Dunn said.

A combination of several other trauma patients in the hospital and low cloud cover prevented the transfers, Dunn said. Those patients were sent to Orlando facilities.

Tiffany Bender, marketing and community relations coordinator for Florida Hospital Heartland Division, said the Lake Placid hospital initially received 11 patients. Two were later airlifted out, while the other nine were admitted.

The Sebring hospital received six victims initially. Four were later taken to Orlando, and the other two were admitted, Bender said.

She described hospital staff as busy, but not overwhelmed by the influx of patients.

"We train for this on a regular basis," Bender said.

The hospital will often run drills, where the staff is placed on Code Orange, which means there is a disaster in the area.

Dunn said Mondays are usually the busiest days at ERs.

"We are a trauma center, so we are prepared to deal with multiple traumas at one time," he said.

Still, with so many patients coming in from the accident and the number of unrelated traumas Tampa General was dealing with, the staff was working hard.

"Not many people took dinner breaks last night," Dunn said Tuesday.

Highlands Today reporter Brad Dickerson can be reached at (863) 386-5838 or bdickerson@highlandstoday.com