Three members of a family visiting Florida from Massachusetts were killed in a four-vehicle crash on Tuesday evening, the Florida Highway Patrol said.
The crash happened in Kissimmee, which is near Orlando.
The family was traveling in a van when it was struck from behind and overturned, said highway patrol Lt. Kim Montes.
Scarlett Smith, 5, Julie Smith, 41, and Josephine Fay, 76, died in the crash, which occurred about 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, Montes said in an accident report. The Smith family is from Whitman, Massachusetts, and the Fays are from South Weymouth, Massachusetts.
The accident report said Jackson Smith, 11, was in critical condition. Two other children - Shalie Smith, 10, and Skyler Smith, 5 - were not injured in the crash. But the report said they were taken to the hospital for monitoring.
Driver Shane Smith, 43, and passenger William Fay, 76, were taken to an Orlando hospital in stable condition.
The district where the children attend school in Massachusetts released a statement saying counseling and administrative teams would be ready to support the victims’ classmates and teachers.
“This is a tragedy, and I believe I express the sentiments of all families, students and employees of the Whitman-Hanson Regional School District in saying that we mourn together during this incredibly difficult time,” Superintendent Jeffrey Szymaniak said in a statement. “I encourage all families to have honest and open conversations with their children.”
The family’s van was traveling in traffic on State Road 429 when it was rear-ended by a pickup truck. The impact caused the van to turn over. Two other cars were involved, but no one else was injured.
The report said charges are pending against the pickup truck’s driver Lucas Dos Reis Laurindo, 26, of Kissimmee.
An investigation continues.
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