Photo: Osceola County Fire Rescue & EMS/Twitter
Three people from three generations of a Massachusetts family were killed while three others were injured in a Tuesday night car crash in Florida just miles away from Walt Disney World.
Julie Smith, 41, and her 5-year-old daughter Scarlett Smith, both of Whitman, Massachusetts, were killed in the crash, as was Julie’s 76-year-old mother Josephine Fay of South Weymouth.
All three were declared dead at the scene, theBoston Globereported.
Shane Smith, 43, and William Fay, 76, were also injured, and both were treated and released from the hospital,WBZreported.
Meanwhile, Scarlett’s twin sister Skylar and older sister Shalie Smith, 10, were both treated and released as well, according to the outlet.
All four of the children had attended the Merry Deb Learning Center in Whitman, and Merry Deb’s Darlene Staples told WBZ that Scarlett and Skylar had recently been talking about the family’s upcoming trip to Disney World.
“They were so excited about going,” she said. “They loved school, they loved their friends, they loved playing. We’re just trying to deal with it right now… It’s unimaginable. They’re a beautiful family.”
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The crash occurred after a pickup truck did not slow down despite the fact that traffic had slowed, and rear-ended the van, according to the release.
The pickup truck’s driver, 26-year-old Lucas Dos Reis Laurindo of Kissimmee, is facing pending charges, Lt. Kim Montes of the Florida Highway Patrol tells PEOPLE. PEOPLE was not able to immediately reach Laurindo for comment.
All but Shane Smith were wearing seatbelts or child restraints, according to theGlobe.
The rear-end caused a chain-reaction collision that struck two other vehicles, but those cars only sustained minor damage and the drivers were not injured, the release said.
Montes told theGlobethat Laurindo did not show any signs of impairment and has cooperated with the Florida Highway Patrol’s crash investigation.
Charges against Laurindo will only come once the traffic homicide investigation is complete, which will take approximately 180 days, theGlobereported.
source: people.com
