Victims identified in U.S. 27 van crash near Moore Haven
Update: The Florida Highway Patrol has identified the eight people killed and the 10 injured in the church van accident near Moore Haven.
The eight who were killed:
– Volsaint Marsaille (driver), 58, Fort Pierce.
– Jude Petit-Frere, 66, Fort Pierce.
– Obernise Petit-Frere, 58, Fort Pierce.
– Lifaite Lochard, 58, Fort Pierce.
– Madeleine William, 53, Fort Pierce.
– Wanie Larose, 50, Fort Pierce.
– Dazilla Joseph, 79, Fort Pierce.
– Servilus Dieudonne, 71, Port St. Lucie.
The 10 who were injured:
– Claudette Fleurvil, 44, Fort Pierce, critical condition.
– Innocent Roseme, 89, Fort Pierce, critical condition.
– Esperant Lexine, 57, Fort Pierce, critical condition.
– Jose Zimero, 26, Fort Pierce, serious condition.
– Jean Rafael, 73, Fort Pierce, serious condition.
– Marilia Dieudonne, 65, Fort Pierce, serious condition.
– Nozaire Nore, 48, Fort Pierce, minor injuries.
– Nicholas Alexis, 57, Fort Pierce, minor injuries.
– Macaty Jean Jacques, 53, Fort Pierce, fair condition.
– Faeyana Desirus, 4, Fort Pierce, discharged from hospital.
Original story: Eight people were killed and 10 others injured when a church van ran through a stop sign, crossed all lanes of U.S. 27 and landed in a canal near Moore Haven, the Florida Highway Patrol said.
The van was from the Independent Haitian Assembly of God in Fort Pierce. Members were returning in the very early hours Monday morning from Palm Sunday services in Fort Myers.
“This is very sad — a tragedy,” said Philippe Dorce, who lost his cousin Lifaite Lochard and father-in-law Volsaint Marsaille in the crash.
The crash happened at Glades County, just west of Lake Okeechobee, at an intersection around 12:30 a.m.
There were 18 people on the van. The driver and seven passengers are confirmed dead.
Lt. Gregory S. Bueno said it was not foggy in the area when the crash occurred.
The 10 other passengers were taken to four hospitals, Bueno said and a 4-year-old child was in stable condition at a Fort Myers hospital. At least two patients were classified as trauma alerts. The injury status of two others weren’t immediately known. The conditions of the other passengers ranged from serious to stable.
One of the five taken to Lee Memorial Hospital in Fort Myers was released, said Chris Dion, the hospital’s administrative supervisor.
TCPalm.com is reporting that one survivor said the driver didn’t notice a curve in the road and couldn’t stop in time. The van went into a ditch after a brake failure, according to the website. The van was going east on State Road 78 when it went through the stop sign, crossed U.S. 27 and then went down an embankment, crashing into a canal.
The church has about 200 members in its congregation.
With lots of tears and prayers, about 50 members gathered outside the church Monday morning.
“Even in good times and bad, we all come together,” said Fort Pierce’s Takisha Brianvil, whose children’s godfather, Nicholas Alexis suffered minor injuries in the crash. “We are here to support each other.”
Alexis, 57, also of Fort Pierce, was among those gathering outside the church. His leg was bandaged and he was walking with a crutch.
Dorce, who was at the scene near Moore Haven this morning, said his father-in-law Volsaint Marsaille was a kind man.
“He would cut the grass and make food (at the church),” Dorce said.
It is the second horrific accident this month in the western communities. Four people were killed in a multi-car crash near South Bay on March 16. A trailer came detached from a truck and a car with five people then smashed into the tractor-trailer on the road.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Source: Palm Beach Post
