Three high school seniors killed in vehicle crash in Florida
Three 18-year-old high school seniors from Massachusetts are dead, and one remains in critical condition following a crash Monday night involving a tractor-trailer in the Florida Panhandle.
The crash happened at 9:28 p.m. on U.S. 98, about 1 mile west of South Watersound Parkway in Walton County. The four 18-year-olds were in an SUV traveling westbound when a tractor-trailer performed a U-turn in the paved median of the highway.
The SUV in which the 18-year-olds were traveling collided with the trailer, then moved across the median and both eastbound lanes before coming to a rest off the south side of the highway, according to the Florida Highway Patrol.
A male driver and a female passenger were pronounced dead at the scene. They were identified as Concord-Carlisle High School seniors Jimmy McIntosh and Hannah Wasserman, according to Concord-Carlisle Regional School District Superintendent Dr. Laurie Hunter.
"The Concord-Carlisle High School community has learned of a tragic car accident that took place in Florida on Monday night," Hunter said in a statement issued to the school community Tuesday morning.
"Two seniors, Jimmy McIntosh and Hannah Wasserman, passed away as a result of the accident. We offer our deep condolences to the families and friends of Hannah and Jimmy during this unimaginable time. Their loss will be deeply felt by our school community as well as by so many families in Carlisle and Concord."
On Tuesday afternoon, Hunter announced that a third female passenger, identified as Maisey O'Donnell, has died.
"It is with great sadness that I share additional information about the tragic car accident in Florida. We learned that a third CCHS senior, Maisey O'Donnell, passed this afternoon. Maisey is in the organ donation program as her family hopes that it will give meaning to these meaningless tragedies," Hunter said.
"We are very appreciative of the outpouring of love during what is absolutely heartbreaking. We also appreciate the wish to feel purposeful and not helpless. At this time, it is most appropriate that no action be taken to honor the students without the full consent of the families and appropriate support for so many young people facing unfathomable loss."
Hunter said grief counselors will be at Concord-Carlisle High School from 10 a.m. to noon Wednesday and that all students and faculty are encouraged to attend, share community, and receive professional support if needed. Remote counselors will also be available.
"I think it affects everyone, even people who might not be very close to the family," Leah Jonczyk said, whose sister is a classmate of the students. "They're just about to go off. They were excited to start their sort of young adult lives. I'll probably be thinking about it for a long time."
O'Donnell was a two-time Massachusetts state diving champion with plans to attend Williams College next fall.
Her coach, Boston Area Diving head coach Joe Chirico, said O'Donnell was one of the top divers in the U.S., describing her as humble with a kind heart. He said the loss of her and her two classmates is impossible to understand.
"It's a tragedy," Chirico said. "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."
Chirico said O'Donnell came from a close-knit family and found a second family with her diving team. He said the loss of the three students is immeasurable.
"To be a parent or somebody involved with one of these kids, it has to be one of the hardest things in the world," Chirico said. "I can't imagine anything tougher."
The driver of the tractor-trailer, a 19-year-old Florida resident, and a passenger in the tractor-trailer were not injured.
Florida Highway Patrol said the crash remains under investigation.
Video: 3 Mass. high school seniors dead, 1 critically injured after Florida crash
