A mother driving a minivan lost control of the vehicle after a tire separated, killing six passengers including four of her own children.
When first responders arrived at the horrific scene late Saturday, they found people lying in the road on Interstate 95 north of Indiantown Road in Jupiter, apparently ejected from their vehicles, according to Palm Beach County Fire Rescue.
According to Florida Highway Patrol officials, the two-vehicle crash happened at 9:34 p.m. Saturday.
Authorities say the disintegrating tire caused Heidi Solis-Perez, 33, to lose control of a 2001 Mercury Villager. The minivan veered into a concrete barrier wall and bounced off it into the path of a 2012 Kia Sorento, the highway patrol said.
Solis-Perez, of Stuart, survived the deadly crash and was taken to Delray Medical Center in serious condition. Daisy Julian-Solis, 11, also survived the crash and was taken to St. Mary’s Medical Center in serious condition.
Killed in the crash were four Julian-Solis children in the minivan: Macareo, 14; Marillany, 5; Alexander, 7; and Sandy, 17.
Solis-Perez is the mother of all five children, according to Sgt. Mark Wysocky. She has since learned of the deaths of her two sons and two of her daughters, he said.
Two other people in the minivan were killed: Andres Perez, 18, of Stuart, and Reynaldo Diaz, 31, of West Palm Beach.
Diaz was Solis-Perez’s boyfriend. It was not clear who Perez was related to.
The woman driving the SUV, Sharwen Pierre Louis, 21, of Fort Pierce, had minor injuries, the Florida Highway Patrol said. She was treated at a Stuart hospital and released.
Of the nine people involved in the crash, three died on scene, and three were pronounced dead at local hospitals, Wysocky said.
Some of the patients were taken to the hospital by helicopter, others by ambulance, according to fire rescue.
The highway lanes were reopened about 3 a.m., Wysocky said.
Staff writers Anne Geggis contributed to this report.
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