14 DAY TRIAL // A crash in Florida has left one church volunteer dead and 19 people injured on the Turnpike, reports say.
The driver of the van and 18 members of a religious youth group have been hospitalized following the incident, Miami Herald describes. The extent of the passengers' injuries has not been specified at this point.
On Saturday, April 13, the group was traveling from Miami to Orlando in a 2001 Ford van when one of its tires blew. A tire tread separation has occurred, in which the tread breaks away from the carcass of the tire.
A spokesperson by the Florida Highway Patrol details that the vehicle crashed 5 miles north of Yeehaw Junction on the Florida Turnpike, in the vicinity of Kenasville before 7:10 p.m.
Kim Montes mentions that the vehicle capsized and rolled over several times, killing 46-year-old Merlande Chery. She died before paramedics arrived at the scene of the accident.
WESH writes that Chery, of north Miami, has been flown out of the van and thrown to the ground, being pronounced dead immediately after the impact.
All the people on the bus have been injured, and it appears that it was overcrowded. The church vehicle was designed to transport only 15 passengers.
The group was headed for a church-related event in Orlando, and it appears that a van belongs to Miami-based non-profit GSC Community Involvement.
The charity, run by one Anslo Chery, of unknown connection to the victim in the accident, offers youth programs in the area.
An unknown number of children were inside when the driver lost control of the van. 42-year-old Willem Camille has been badly hurt and has been transported to a clinic.
Five helicopters and several ambulances have been dispatched at the scene to take the 19 people to six area hospitals.