Nine family members were killed — including several young children — when a packed SUV on Monday ran off a South Florida road, crashed into a guardrail and landed upside down in a canal, officials said.
Only one passenger survived the deadly wreck and was hospitalized in serious condition.
“I’ve been with the department for 20 years, and this is one of the most difficult scenes I’ve been on,” Palm Beach County Fire Rescue Capt. Tom Reyes said.
The tragedy occurred around 7:30 p.m. as the four adults and six children from out of state passed through Belle Glade and came to a sharp left curve, the Palm Beach Sherrif’s Office said.
Driver Pamela Wiggins, who would have turned 57 on Tuesday, failed to negotiate the turn “for undetermined reasons” and careened off the road, according to police.
The SUV smashed into the guardrail, flipped and tumbled into the water — where it became so submerged that only its wheels were visible, Reyes said.
Four victims were pronounced dead at the scene and five others died at the hospital, according to police.
The dead include six children: 1-year-old Naleia Tucker; 3-year-old Ziaire Mack; 5-year-olds Yasire Smith and Kamdien Edwards; 8-year-old Imani Andre Ajani Hall and 14-year-old Michael Anthony Hall Jr.
Leiana Alyse Hall, 30; Anyia Monique Lee Tucker, 21, and Wiggins were also killed.
Jorden Rickey Hall, 26, is the lone survivor of the tragedy and is in serious condition.
The family — who hailed from Bridgeport, Connecticut and Chesapeake, Virginia — was visiting Florida for a family member’s birthday party, according to grieving loved ones.
The crash occurred on the final day of the trip, Anntianette Edwards, who lost her son Kamdien, told WPBF.
“They were heading to the airport to come back to Connecticut,” Anntianette said.
The family was driving a 2023 Ford Explorer, which has a maximum capacity of seven people, according to Ford dealership websites.
None of the passengers in the overloaded car were wearing seatbelts at the time of the fatal wreck, police said.
Police are investigating the cause of the crash.
Belle Glade is a farming community just south of Lake Okeechobee and about 45 miles west of West Palm Beach.
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