March 09, 2020 - 11:39 AM
ORLANDO, Fla. - A man has been cited for careless driving in a central Florida crash that killed two adults and two children visiting from Massachusetts, authorities said Monday.
Lucas Dos Reis Laurindo, 26, was issued a ticket last week, according to a Florida Highway Patrol news release. Federal officials previously took him into custody for a visa violation.
The crash happened Feb. 18 in Kissimmee, which is near Orlando. Troopers said the family had been travelling in a van when it was struck from behind and overturned.
Scarlett Smith, 5, Julie Smith, 41, and Josephine Fay, 76, died at the scene, according to an accident report. Jackson Smith, 11, died the next day at a central Florida hospital. The Smith family is from Whitman, Massachusetts, and the Fays are from South Weymouth, Massachusetts.
Two other children, ages 10 and 5, were not injured in the crash, but the report said they were taken to the hospital for monitoring. The van's driver and another adult passenger were taken to an Orlando hospital in stable condition.
The family's van was travelling in traffic on State Road 429 when it was rear-ended by a Dos Reis Laurindo's pickup truck, officials said. The impact caused the van to turn over. Two other cars were involved, but no one else was injured.
Dos Reis Laurindo remains at the jail in Glades County, near Lake Okeechobee.
News from © The Associated Press, 2020