Multi-vehicle crash leaves boy, 12, ‘critical but stable’

Seven people were hospitalized after a three-car collision in St. Lucie West on Sunday afternoon.

The most serious of the injured is a 12-year-old boy who was airlifted to St. Mary's Medical Center in West Palm Beach. He is in “critical but stable condition,” said Port St. Lucie Police Department Master Sgt. Frank Sabol. The other six are being treated at local hospitals for non life-threatening injuries, he said.

The three-vehicle crash happened at 1:30 p.m. Sunday in front of West Gate K-8 school when a Nissan SUV was heading south, veered left of center and crashed into the driver's side of a Mazda sedan and then continued to crash, head on, into a Volkswagen van, according to a release from the Port St. Lucie Police Department.

Police have identified the driver of the Nissan as Margaret Smith, 57, of Port St. Lucie; the driver of the Mazda as Alejandro Miranda, 41, of Port St. Lucie; and the driver of the Volkswagen as Mario Aleus, 51, of Port St. Lucie.

Inside the Mazda sat a 68-year-old female passenger in the front and a 34 year-old pregnant female in the back seat. The 12-yearold boy who was airlifted to St. Mary's and a 13-year-old were seated in the back of the Volkswagen. Police have not released the names of the passengers.

Damage was so bad to the Nissan, St. Lucie County needed hydraulic rescue tools, often referred to as “the jaws of life,” to cut Smith out of her destroyed car, according to the release. Smith did not have any passengers.