Nine people from the same family were killed in a devastating car accident in Florida.
On Monday (August 5), an SUV carrying ten people went off the road, hit a railing and landed upside down in a canal in Belle Grade.
26-year-old Jorden Hall is considered the only survivor of the accident. She was taken to hospital in serious condition after the accident.
The other nine did not make it; four of them were pronounced dead at the scene. The remaining five were taken to the hospital but later died, the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office confirmed.
A police statement dated August 6 read: “Last night, a tragic accident occurred in Belle Glade in the 5800 block of Hatton Highway that resulted in multiple fatalities. Tragically, the Fire Department confirmed that 4 victims were pronounced deceased at the scene and 6 were transported to a local hospital where 5 additional victims died. We have one survivor, giving us a total of 10 victims.
“Our thoughts and prayers are with the families during this heartbreaking incident.”
Nine members of the same family tragically died. (NBC 6)
The names of the deceased have since been given as follows: Pamela Wiggins, 56, Leiana Alyse Hall, 30, Anyia Monique Lee Tucker, 21, Imani Hall, 8, Kamdien Edwards, 5, Yasire Smith, 5, Zaire Mack, 3, and Naleia Tucker, 1.
According to a police report, Pamela was driving the car and none of the passengers were wearing seat belts.
It is said that all of the deceased belonged to the same family and were on their way to a different family member’s birthday party.
Pamela’s daughter has set up a GoFundMe page to help pay for funeral expenses, and at the time of this writing, it has received over $100,000 in donations.
It is still unclear exactly how the accident happened, but former District 6 Commissioner Melissa Mckinlay has since criticized the poor road conditions at the scene of the accident.
A fundraiser set up for the family has raised over $100,000. (GoFundMe)
“This road is absolutely terrible. I’ve driven on a lot of roads in the area that are in bad shape and this one is at the top of the list,” McKinlay told CBS 12.
She continued: “There is no shoulder, the road markings are bad, the condition of the pavement is terrible, there is no lighting, there are no crash barriers on most of the roads, just a few up here on the bends. There are two very dangerous bends.”
UNILAD has reached out to the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office for comment.
Click here to donate to GoFundMe.
