Investigators say the three seniors from Massachusetts high schools who died in a deadly crash during their spring break in Florida last month were speeding down the road at a terrifying 110 mph in the dark prior to the fatal collision.
According to a Florida Highway Patrol crash report, on April 21, James McIntosh, 18, and three other teenagers were travelling on US 98 close to Panama City “at an excessive speed” when their car collided with a tractor-trailer that was making a U-turn.
Shortly before the collision that claimed the lives of Hannah Wasserman, 17, and state diving champion Maisey O’Donnell, 18, McIntosh “failed to slow to traffic turning in front of him.”
Three days after the collision, O’Donnell, a standout athlete at Concord-Carlisle High School, was declared dead at Massachusetts General Hospital.
According to the report, a fourth unnamed senior, age 18, suffered critical injuries in the collision, but there was no update provided regarding their condition.
Wasserman was the only teenager not wearing a seatbelt at the time of the collision, according to investigators. McIntosh was also not tested for alcohol or drug use.
When Mclntosh struck the truck, the tractor trailer driver, 19-year-old Kadyn DeWayne Ainsworth, failed to yield to the right of way and was estimated to be travelling at around 20 mph.
Whether Ainsworth was charged or cited was not mentioned in the report.
“We understand the public’s desire for a fast resolution to these criminal investigations; however, it is more important that we conduct the best investigation possible for the people that are involved,” Florida Highway Patrol’s chief of public affairs, Lt. Jim Beauford stated.
One of the tragedy’s witnesses described how the SUV sped by him before collapsing.
On the night of the collision, Dr. Gary Howerton was driving home from work when he was stopped at a red light.
Since there were no cars in the area, he accelerated to roughly 72 mph when the light changed, he told the Globe. Then he claimed to have seen the SUV’s high beams flashing at him as it quickly approached from behind.
“The car just blew by me like I was standing still,” Howerton stated. “My first impression was, ‘Oh no.’ Something bad is going to happen because of the way he was driving.”
Shortly after, he remembered hearing the crash boom down the street.
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In a wooded area off the road, Howerton saw the SUV’s roof ripped off and ripped to pieces as he hurried to the scene of the collision.
The emergency medicine specialist claimed that he hurried over to try to assist the people inside the SUV but was unable to do anything.
“This car was just going so fast,” he stated. “It shouldn’t have happened.”
Just months before graduation, the community surrounding Concord-Carlisle High School was in mourning after the fatal crash that occurred while the teenagers were on spring break in Florida.
“The loss of our daughter has devastated us beyond words. We are seeking to understand what led to this senseless tragedy, so others may never have to experience a similarly heartbreaking loss,” O’Donnell’s family attorney said in a statement.
O’Donnell went undefeated in her junior and senior seasons and won the Massachusetts MIAA Division I State Diving Championship twice.
She intended to dive collegiately at Williams College, where she would be attending next year. Last month, Joe Chirico, her coach, said she was an inspiration to young athletes.
“It’s a tragedy,” Chirico stated.
“The little kids looked up to her, the other divers looked up to her. It’s a tragedy, that somebody at the top of their game, going to the best academic school, one of the best divers in the nation, was cut so short.”
According to her obituary, O’Donnell is survived by her sister Emery and her parents, Christopher and Elizabeth.
As a competitive dancer and teacher, Wasserman is remembered for loving her work instructing younger dancers.
In the fall, she was scheduled to enrol at Syracuse University. According to her obituary, she is survived by her two brothers, Henry and Ben, as well as her parents, Charlie and Jennifer.
