PEMBROKE PINES, Fla. – A driver was cited Friday for driving in a careless or negligent manner after he crashed into a school bus in Pembroke Pines, authorities said.
Brian Bilardello, 39, is accused of slamming his Toyota minivan into the back of a school bus that was stopped at a red light at 6800 Pembroke Road.
A driver recorded video of Bilardello after he said he saw Bilardello driving erratically. Andre Addison told Local 10 News that he believed that Bilardello was fighting with the driver of a Toyota RAV4.
"He was slapping someone, like, out of the car. He was slapping at someone and cursing," Addison said.
Broward County Public Schools spokeswoman Nadine Drew said four students from South Broward High School were on the school bus. The students and bus driver were not injured.
Pembroke Pines Fire Rescue used the Jaws of Life to get Bilardello out of his vehicle.
According to a traffic report, Bilardello was wearing his seat belt when he crashed and his vision was not obscured. It's unclear whether he was under the influence of alcohol or drugs.
Bilardello was taken to Memorial Regional Hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. His father told Local 10 News that his son suffered a broken hip and a lacerated spleen.
"I was very disturbed by this whole thing myself," Joe Bilardello told Local 10 News reporter Jeff Weinsier on the phone. "His mother and I are just trying to understand what we need to do. I was glad to hear that everybody (else) was safe. I don't know how this could have happened."
Bilardello was previously arrested in Oct. 2013 in Broward County on drug possession charges, which included possession of heroin, oxycodone, cocaine and drug paraphernalia.