ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. — The woman driving the Nissan Altima that was rear ended by another car Thursday night is being investigated after the nine children in her car were hospitalized.
The woman, described by witnesses as the grandmother to at least some of the children, is also recovering in the hospital.
Troopers say their investigation is still in its early stages as they reconstruct what happened. The Altima was traveling west on Raleigh Street Thursday night when an Alfa Romeo rear ended it, sending the Altima spinning into a tree.
The 29-year-old driver of the Alfa Romeo remained on the scene. Troopers said they were working to access his car’s computers to figure out how fast he was driving and were exploring potential charges against him depending on what the data shows.
As of Friday morning, all the children were listed in either “fair” or “good” condition by doctors at Orlando Health. However, by Friday afternoon one child – an eight-year-old boy who was the most seriously injured by the crash – had been downgraded to critical, but stable condition.
The other children ranged from three to 14 years old. Four of them had been discharged from the hospital as of Friday afternoon.
Troopers said they were trying to figure out why all nine kids were stuffed into a car that was only designed to hold five people, including the driver.
Additionally, they were working to confirm each child’s relationship to the driver and how each child was positioned inside the car. Witnesses said many of the children were sitting on each other’s laps without seat belts.
Florida law requires each person in a car to be buckled. Violations can carry a fine. However, attorneys said a driver involved in a crash where they knew a child wasn’t buckled in could be charged with child abuse – in this case, with great bodily harm.
If the eight-year-old were to pass away, attorneys said the charge would become manslaughter.
“This is exactly why laws exist,” attorney Brian Pakett said. “You shouldn’t put 10 people in a car that seats five.”
Troopers emphasized that while their investigation was underway, no charges were pending against either of the drivers.
A man at the house of the family, who described himself as the female driver’s husband, referred questions about the crash to his lawyer, who he did not identify.
Witnesses at the crash site defended the family and said it was common for kids to ride on each other’s’ laps in that community because family members and friends looked out for each other while others worked.
“They’re depending on other family members helping them with the day-to-day tasks,” Wendy Jackson said. “They can’t afford childcare. They can’t afford these things in this neighborhood.”
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