‘Horrific’ crash kills five, including three children

Five people, including three children under 10 and a teenager, were killed in a two-car crash in northwest Orange County Thursday evening, according to the Florida Highway Patrol.

Two other adults were injured in the accident, which occurred near Clarcona Ocoee Road and Gaymar Drive just before 8 p.m., FHP spokeswoman Lt. Kim Montes said.

Two women, ages 25 and 30, and three children, 4- and 5-year-old girls and a 5-month-old boy, were killed in the accident, according to an FHP press release issued early Friday.

The deceased were all from Orlando and riding in the same sedan.

Pastor Anthony Oliver, of Taft Missionary Baptist Church, told FOX 35 News that those killed were his two adult daughters and three grandchildren.

“[I’m] just imagining that final impact and what my kids was going through and my grandchildren was saying and I couldn’t be there to protect them,” he told the news station. “Because anytime anything happened, they were always calling for me. ‘Pa pa! Pa pa!’ ... That’s what hurts, that I wasn’t there.”

Both drivers survived the accident and were wearing seatbelts at the time of the crash, according to the release.

The driver of the car that was hit, a 51-year-old woman, sustained serious injuries.

The other driver, a 28-year-old man from Apopka, suffered minor injuries.

During a press conference near the scene of the accident Thursday night, Montes said a car, which FOX 35 reported was driven by Oliver’s wife, was turning left on Clarcona Ocoee Road when it was hit on the right by another vehicle. The first car had six passengers, though the vehicle only had five seats, Montes said.

Both cars overturned in the accident, and five people were ejected from the sedan, the release said. It appeared some of the passengers were not wearing their seatbelts, Montes said.

One of the children killed was young enough to sit in an infant car seat. Responders believe the people killed in the crash were all related.

“This is one of the most horrific scenes we’ve had in a very long time,” Montes said. “... Half of the vehicle is gone, and it’s gone from impact.”

Veal said the call was “extremely rough” but FHP and OCFR’s response was “phenomenal.”

“We have senior firefighters who’ve been on the department 15+ years, and this is never easy, especially when you talk about children,” he said. “Our hearts go out to the families and to the community.”

Family members of those killed in the accident showed up to the scene of the crash and were receiving assistance from FHP and OCFR, Montes said.

“Their emotions are raw, because they see what’s going on,” Veal said. “... Our job is to help people and to ease in their time of suffering, and when we can’t do that, it’s very hard.”

Another fatal crash happened in the same area in January, and FHP troopers will ask the intersection be evaluated for safety, Montes said.