ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. – A crash in the Carver Shores area of Orange County on Thursday evening left a woman and nine children hospitalized, according to Orlando police.
In a release, troopers said that two cars — an Alfa Romeo and a Nissan Altima — had been traveling east on Raleigh Street near Campanella Avenue just before the collision.
However, the Alfa Romeo driver failed to see the Nissan ahead, causing the Alfa Romeo to strike the rear of the Nissan, troopers explained.
Following the impact, the Nissan ran off the right side of the road, ultimately striking a tree, the release shows.
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Troopers said that nine children in the Nissan were taken to hospitals with serious injuries. One adult in the Nissan — a 58-year-old Orlando woman who was driving the Altima — was also hospitalized for treatment of serious injuries, according to FHP.
Four of the children have since been discharged while five children and the adult are still in the hospital at the time of this report, according to a spokesperson for Orlando Health.
The spokesperson told News 6 that the patients consisted of five boys, four girls, and one woman. The children were listed as follows:
- Female - 7 years old
- Female - 4 years old
- Female - 7 years old
- Female - 14 years old
- Male - 4 years old
- Male - 3 years old
- Male - 10 years old
- Male - 6 years old
- Male - 6 years old
Some of the children were sitting on each other’s laps and were not wearing seat belts when the crash occurred, troopers said.
Meanwhile, the Alfa Romeo driver, identified as a 29-year-old from Kissimmee, was not hospitalized and remained at the scene, according to the Florida Highway Patrol.
Florida law requires the use of seat belts or child restraint devices by drivers of motor vehicles, all front-seat passengers, and all children under 18 riding in a vehicle.
News 6’s Trooper Steve says, unfortunately, cases like this happen far too often.
“You look at the math here and it doesn’t add up: five seatbelts in a vehicle with nine passengers. It’s a disaster waiting to happen,” he said.
“I’ve investigated crashes where people have died at 5 to 10 miles per hour. A seatbelt is designed to save your life. It’s not designed to be comfortable or to be fun, and if you’re not using it, you’re gambling with your life,” he added.
No additional information has been provided at this time.