Two teens are dead and three others remain seriously injured Monday after their car flipped over in a crash and slid into oncoming traffic in Pompano Beach on Friday night.
A 16-year-old boy was driving a 2019 Mercedes Benz CLA 250 shortly before 8 p.m. Friday near the 200 block of East Copans Road with four passengers, three 17-year-old boys and a 17-year-old girl, the Broward Sheriff’s Office said in a news release Saturday.
The boy was driving west on East Copans Road, approaching Leisure Boulevard, at the same time an 82-year-old man driving a 2021 Toyota Sienna made a left turn onto East Copans Road and crashed with the Mercedes, the Sheriff’s Office said. The Mercedes flipped onto its roof and slid across the road into oncoming traffic, then collided with another car, a 2015 Lexus RX 350. Yet another car, a 2021 Toyota RAV4, was hit by debris from the Mercedes.
All of the teens, as well as the driver of the Lexus, were taken to the hospital, the Sheriff’s Office said. The drivers of the Toyota Sienna and Toyota RAV4 were not injured.
The teens were students at St. Thomas Aquinas High School in Fort Lauderdale, according to social media posts from the school, which held a prayer vigil on campus Monday morning.
“The STA community is prayerful in response to the news of a terrible accident involving STA students,” one statement from the school said. “In times like these, we are called to come together in prayer — for the victims, their families, and for our entire community as we seek healing and comfort.”
The boy driving the Mercedes was pronounced dead on Friday night. He was identified in a GoFundMe online fundraiser organized by a family friend as Jayden Vico.
One of his passengers also later died, identified as Richie Grable in a GoFundMe organized by the boy’s friend. Relatives announced his death late Sunday night in social media posts on Facebook.
The surviving teens are facing serious injuries, according to GoFundMe fundraisers for their recovery. One of the boys has broken ribs, a broken collarbone and brain hemorrhaging. The second surviving boy has a broken femur, a collapsed lung and a broken ankle. The girl passenger was intubated and in critical condition with brain and lung injuries and fractures in her ribs, pelvis and spine.
The Sheriff’s Office on Saturday said preliminary information showed that speeding may have contributed to the crash. Additional information had not been released as of Monday.
This is a developing story, so check back for updates. Click here to have breaking news alerts sent directly to your inbox.