Related crashes on Turnpike leave 3 dead

A good Samaritan trying to help others after a crash on Florida’s Turnpike was hit and killed along with a 13-year-old boy and one other person over the weekend, the Florida Highway Patrol said.

The chain reaction started when Kissimmee resident Wilfredo Fontanez, 44, lost control of his 2007 Toyota Camry about 9:30 p.m. Saturday while driving northbound about 2 miles south of the State Road 60 exit in Osceola County, said FHP spokeswoman Lt. Kim Montes. He veered onto the shoulder and hit a guardrail, she said.

Jose Zuenigia-Garcia, a 30-year-old Winter Haven resident, was riding in a pickup truck that pulled over in the median to help Fontanez and his two passengers, Montes said. Another car swerved into the median, hitting Zuenigia-Garcia and two passengers from Fontanez’s car — 44-year-old Tamari Lopez and 13-year-old Dylan Pineiro, both of Altamonte Springs, according to Montes. All three died at the scene.

Montes said the driver of that car, a 2009 Mercedes C300, was Gabriel Nieves, 22, of Orlando.

There was yet another crash at the scene after the three people were hit. Georgia resident Michael Groth, 21, was driving his Volkswagen Golf near the crash and swerved to avoid Fontanez’s car but hit it and the pickup truck, according to Montes. No injuries resulted from that crash, she said.

Charges are pending, Montes said. Alcohol was not a factor in any of the collisions, according to the incident report.