Family of Hillsborough student injured in school bus crash sent medical bills totaling over $3K

TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — David Toloff said his 12-year-old daughter and her twin brother were on their way to school on a Hillsborough County bus on April 16 when a car slammed into it.

He said his daughter hit her head during the crash, and was left with a busted lip. She was the only student who was taken to a hospital for medical care. The driver of the car was transported by medical helicopter to another hospital. Toloff said his daughter is fine now, but he’s received medical bills costing thousands of dollars—$2,374 for the hospital stay, and $872 for the ambulance.

He said he called Hillsborough County Schools and was told to call another number to speak to the appropriate person to help with those bills, since the injuries occurred on a school bus.

He said he has called repeatedly, but no one answered the phone.

“I’m hitting a brick wall now,” Toloff said. “Summer vacation is a week away. I’m going to hit a bigger brick wall.

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“I get it. I understand, but the fact that I can’t contact anyone to get the information to pass the bills off to where they belong is what’s frustrating.”

Better Call Behnken called the district and was told they are sorry to hear the parents weren’t unable to reach them.

“Now that we’ve been made aware, we are working to resolve the issue. We will make sure to take care of it,” a district spokeswoman said in a statement.

The spokeswoman said the district’s insurance carrier will pay the bills for the parents and then decide whether to seek reimbursement from the insurance provider of the driver who caused the accident.

Toloff said that after calls from Consumer Investigator Shannon Behnken, a representative from the school district called him, and he has sent them copies of the bills.

The incident report from the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office shows that the driver of the car that hit the bus was “asleep or fatigued” at the time of the crash.

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