Five young friends travelling to New York City from Florida who were killed after a driver going the wrong way on a freeway slammed into their vehicle head-on have been named, while authorities confirmed the suspect in the deadly crash is in custody.
Florida Highway Patrol officials told Local10 that Maiky Simeon, 30, will face five counts of vehicular homicide, after he was suspected of causing the fatal accident on the Palmetto Expressway early Saturday morning.
“Troopers are awaiting the results of a toxicology report to determine if impairment was a contributing factor,” the FHP told CBS Miami in a statement, adding that if the test results confirm that he was driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol, “additional charges will be filed”.
The victims of the crash, who have since been identified by friends and family in various online posts and fundraisers, were all aged 18 to 25 years olds and were described by those who knew them as having “beautiful energy”.
“I miss you but I know that you are at peace angel,” wrote Kiara Pacalagua, the younger sister of Briana Pacalagua, who was behind the wheel of the car that carried her best friends on that deadly night.
Alongside Pacalagua, the other victims of the car crash have been identified as Valeria Cáceres, Daniela Marcano, 19, Valeria Peña and Giancarlo Arias, 18.
The group had been travelling in the early hours of 20 August to make their way to New York City, a trip they’d planned to celebrate one of their group’s youngest – Giancarlo’s – academic successes as he’d received a scholarship to attend New York University in the fall.
At approximately 4.30am, however, their trip was unexpectedly interrupted when the driver of a silver Infiniti sedan, later identified as Mr Simeon, came crashing into the front of their car.
Mr Simeon had allegedly been travelling eastbound in the westbound lanes on the south Florida highway located just outside Miami when his car came into a head on collision with the young friends’ grey Honda sedan.
At the scene, first responders were forced to use the jaws-of-life to cut through to the victim jammed inside the sedan, while all the other passengers travelling inside the vehicle that was struck were declared dead on impact.
“Crews had to use the jaws to cut out one victim that was trapped in his vehicle, unfortunately, the other vehicle there was no one alive to be saved,” Miami-Dade Fire Rescue Chief Mark Chavers told CBS Miami.
After surviving the crash and being cut out of his vehicle with the emergency rescue tool, the suspect in the crash was airlifted to Jackson Memorial Hospital’s Ryder Trauma Center with serious injuries where he remains hospitalised as of Tuesday, authorities said.
“Mr. Simeon continues to receive medical care at the hospital while being monitored by law enforcement officials. He will be booked into jail once discharged from the hospital,” the FHP said.
Family members and friends who knew the tightly knit group quickly kicked off a series of separate GoFundMe’s to help their families offset the costs of the funeral arrangements, with funds pouring in over the weekend from both those who knew the group and complete strangers.
“Gian Carlos had an amazing talent and had his future set,” wrote a family friend who coordinated the aspiring artist’s fundraiser, noting how the only thing comforting his family at this time was that he was surrounded by his friends when he died. “this awful and tragic news was something we weren’t prepared for and it breaks our hearts. He was an amazing kid and touched hearts of everyone he met.”
Daniela Marcano was remembered as being the “sweetest person ever”, but her cut-too-short life was tinged with an additional layer of sadness, as friends told how she’d only just celebrated her 19th birthday.
“She had many goals and dreams that now she won’t be able to achieve them,” wrote her family friend in a fundraiser. “We all miss you Dani fly high our angel.”
The older sister of Valeria Caceres took to her GoFundMe page to share how her “little sister was taken from our hands by a reckless driver”.
“She was so young and full of life and loved by so many,” she wrote, adding a cautionary note to the public to “remember to always drive safe and let the people that are the closest to you know that you love them.”
The more “reserved” and Valeria Pena was described online as always moving through the world with the “best intentions” and was never too shy to share “motivational words” for those closest to her.
“They didn’t deserve such a short life. Young people who were beginning to live their lives, they liked to go out and share with their friends and they were preparing themselves to achieve dreams and goals,” wrote a friend on Pena’s fundraiser. “None of them deserved this.”
Though all touched their friends and family in their own specific and unique ways, a common thread shared throughout the dozens of online tributes was perhaps the only conciliatory fact of the group’s tragic deaths: that is, they were all together in their final moments.
“My sister was a kind, lovely, amazing, sweet, caring and happy person,” wrote the younger sister of Briana Pacalagua in her online fundraiser. “Her friends and her didn’t go alone, they were with each other till the end. fly high baby’s.”
Authorities are continuing to investigate whether substances were used by the suspected driver of the crash and are asking anyone with information about his whereabouts prior to the incident to report it to the Florida Highway Patrol.
