Florida: Four White Family Members Die After Brazilian Rear-Ends Their Van

From left: Scarlett Smith, Jackson Smith, Julie Smith and Josephine Fay

Allowing favela monkeys to drive pickup trucks in America would be fine, they said.

Their lack of opposable thumbs wouldn’t interfere with their driving abilities, they said.

Daily Mail:

Four members of the same family, including two children, have died in a horrific crash near Disney World, Florida.

Jackson Smith, 11, and his five-year-old sister Scarlett lost their lives in the pile-up along with their mother Julie, 41, and 76-year-old grandmother Josephine Fay.

Four other family members, from Whitman, Massachusetts, including Scarlett’s twin sister Skylar, their father Shane Smith, 43 – who was driving – grandfather William Fay, 76, and a 10-year-old girl all escaped with minor injuries after Tuesday’s crash.

Jackson was rushed to hospital in a critical condition but died Wednesday afternoon. His sister, mother and grandmother all died at the scene.

Their Toyota van overturned when it was shunted from behind after it slowed for traffic on the southbound State Road 429 in Osceola County at around 5.30pm.

Police said it was rear-ended by a pickup truck driven by Lucas Dos Reis Laurindo, 26, of Kissimmee.

Florida Highway Patrol Lt. Kim Montes said: ‘We believe everybody was belted, but the father who was driving.

‘We don’t know why this truck didn’t stop yet, but clearly that truck is at fault for rear-ending the van and we’ve just got to sort everything else out.’

FHP troopers, victim advocates, social workers, and nurses are providing the surviving members of the family with support at Orlando Regional Medical Center.

‘This family is far away from home,’ Lt. Montes said. ‘We are trying to do as much as we can to support them, but it’s beyond their comprehension.’

A daycare worker who cared for the 5-year old twins in their home town said: ‘It’s unimaginable. They are a beautiful family. Our hearts are broken.’

Police said the pick-up driver had stayed at the scene after the crash and had been cooperative. He didn’t seem impaired and voluntarily gave a blood sample but charges against him are pending.