ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. – An arrest has been made nearly one year after five people, including three children, were killed in a west Orange County crash, according to the Florida Highway Patrol.
The FHP said Osbaldo Patino-Vazquez, 20, was arrested Tuesday morning and faces five counts of vehicular homicide in connection with the March 11, 2021, crash.
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FHP Lt. Kim Montes said she was told by a traffic homicide investigator the speed “was almost double in this crash.”
“We wanted to make sure we had all of our facts together. Because again, this is a criminal charge and what really matters is what happens in that courtroom, not how fast we get something done and it just took so long, you know, to for us to gather all the facts and make sure we have the supporting documents for this to be a successful prosecution,” she said following the arrest.
Troopers said a Hyundai carrying six people — including two sisters and their three children — was traveling westbound on Clarcona Ocoee Road when the driver attempted to make a left turn onto Gaymar Drive but traveled into the path of an SUV heading east.
The front of the SUV struck the side of the car, which was ripped in half, according to FHP. Both vehicles overturned, and five people in the Hyundai were ejected, the FHP said. All five were pronounced dead at the scene, according to an FHP report. A crash report said the SUV was traveling at an “excessive speed.”
Anthony Oliver, a pastor at Taft Missionary Baptist Church, whose wife, Shawn Jones Oliver, was driving the Hyundai said their daughters and grandchildren died in the crash. He identified the victims who died as Antoinette Oliver, 30; Liza Jackson, 25; Chloe Oliver, 5; Olivia Jackson, 4; and King Oliver, 5 months old.
“We did contact the family, the husband of the driver, who has now passed away from a health issue. And so, just a somber day for that family to finally have the answers as to what caused this crash. And the crash was caused by a driver going well-over the posted speed limit. Driving in a reckless manner that could cause the injury or death of somebody,” Montes said.
Vasquez was booked into the Orange County jail on no bond.