The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Report released in Florida crash
No criminal wrongdoing cited. Months later, Cobb churchgoers still suffer from tragedy.
Nearly three months after a massive Florida highway pileup killed 11 people, an investigation released Thursday revealed troopers erred in reopening a stretch of I-75 clouded with smoke and fog.
But for the small Brazilian church in Cobb County that lost five members in the crash, the news only confirmed what survivors have known all along: The interstate was not safe for drivers in the early morning hours of Jan. 29. That’s when two vans carrying church members home from a conference were caught up in the horrific crash.
“The report is nothing new for us,” Roger Pacheco, a member of Restoration Church, told The Atlanta Journal-constitu- tion. “For us, it’s just official. It’s on paper.”
The trooper who decided to reopen the interstate had not been trained in closing and reopening roads in the event of poor visibility, but the Florida Department of Law Enforcement report found no criminal wrongdoing in his actions.
However, the report said, changes were needed to prevent similar tragedies in the future.
“Immediate changes should be made to FHP [Florida Highway Patrol] policy, and an evaluation of the state’s roadway signage and monitoring capabilities should occur,” the report states.
Brush fires and dense fog in the area made visibility poor on a stretch of highway near Gainesville, Fla., where a chain of wrecks occurred, survivors said in the days following the crash.
Lidiane Carmo, 15, the sole survivor of her immediate family in the crash, hadn’t wanted to make the weekend trip to Orlando for the church conference, friends later said. But still, she went.
Killed in the crash were Lidiane’s parents, Pastor Jose Carmo and his wife, Adriana Carmo; and Lidiane’s 17-year-old sister, Leticia. Also killed were Jose Carmo’s brother Edsom Carmo; and Edsom’s girlfriend Rose.
Lidiane spent more than six weeks in a Florida hospital, missing the funeral for her relatives, before returning to Marietta to live with an uncle and aunt and their two children.
Family members were by Lidiane’s side throughout her hospital stay, and her maternal grandparents from Brazil — a country she left as a toddler — are visiting with the family to help ease the transition. Her grandmother bears a striking resemblance to her mother, church members have said.
The teen continues to be under doctors’ care and has been unable to return to Sprayberry High School. Her biological family has changed, but her church family has not, and she remains strong in her faith, Pastor Bobby Curtis said Thurs- day.
“She seems to be doing quite well,” Curtis said. “She’s at church every Sunday.”
Pacheco agreed, saying Lidiane is strong-willed and eager to go back to school. She has good days and bad days, he said.
Others in the church congregation also are still dealing with physical injuries from the crash, such as Pacheco’s friend, Weberson Barbosa. Barbosa was driving the van directly behind the one the Carmo family was traveling in and saw the crash.
“He saw everything with his own eyes,” Pacheco said. “He’s still in pain and still trying to recover.”
Barbosa’s foot was injured in the crash, he has been unable to fully return to his construction work, and he has hired an attorney to see if there are any legal options available, Pacheco said.
Physical and emotional scars remain for many church members, despite the passage of months.
“The emotional struggle doesn’t change,” Pacheco said. “For us, it’s still very real.”