Horrendous accident

[janswizard]

FHP: Migrant farm van that crashed on
I-95, killing 7, may have been overloaded



FORT PIERCE, Fla. - The van in a rollover crash that killed seven Mexican migrant workers and injured another 12 appeared overcrowded and the driver did not have the appropriate license, authorities said today.

A day after the crash ejected all 19 occupants and scattered bodies across Interstate 95, Florida Highway Patrol officials were trying to identify the victims, most of whom had no official identification.

Lt. Tim Frith said authorities were working with their employer Circle H. Citrus to identify the victims so their families could be notified.

"It's going to be a long, drawn-out process of having people or family members ID them," Frith said. "My understanding is some of these poor gentlemen are working here and don't know anyone. They're simply here to make money."

Frith said authorities were looking into why the van appeared to have more occupants than seats and the responsibility of the driver and Circle H. Citrus. The driver did not have the appropriate license for driving for hire, Frith said.

He said it was too early to determine whether criminal charges would be filed.

"Obviously the load was a big factor in this crash. You're required for every occupant to have a proper seating capacity," Frith said. "It's something we're extremely concerned with."

A woman who answered the phone at the citrus company declined comment today and referred all media calls to local law enforcement.

The crash came about 5:50 p.m. Thursday after the men left work at an orange grove in Sebastian, 27 miles north of Fort Pierce, where most of the men lived.

All the men were transported to regional hospitals. Today, two were "very critical" and another two were listed in stable to critical condition, Frith said.

"It's a very heart-wrenching accident," Frith said. "I haven't seen (seven) fatalities in one vehicle in my career."

The men were in a 2001 Ford 350 cargo van that witnesses said was swerving in its lane and then crossed into the grassy median and rolled over four times, Frith said. About eight miles of the interstate were closed in the aftermath.

"It appeared that the driver was moving in the lane as if he was distracted for some reason," Frith said, describing what witnesses told troopers.

The van had four bench seats, along with single seats for a driver and passenger, Frith said.

Laura Germino, with the advocacy group, the Coalition of Immokalee Workers, said these accidents involving migrant workers happen too frequently.

"It's preventable - if people had been protecting workers as they're supposed to under the law," Germino said. "It's so sad and so unnecessary. Why wouldn't you want to protect the very people who are making your business profitable? When are people just going to be treated as human beings like everyone else?"

- Associated Press


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A local truck driver who has been driving for 30 years was overheard saying it's the worst accident he's ever seen in his life. To compound matters, the migrants did not speak Spanish; and family members who rushed to the scene could not get any information about their loved ones because of the language barrier. So sad.

[stormraiser]

How sad. But your post said they didn't speak Spanish? I think you may have meant English

[janswizard]

Duhhh, I think I'm overtired... The immigrants speak Spanish and there was a language problem relaying information because most of the rescue people only speak English. Fox News affiliate in West Palm Beach has a newswoman who speaks Spanish and she was able to relay information to the families as to which hospitals people were taken to.

[janswizard]

By the way, I think I may have posted this link before; it's an interesting read about how slavery is still alive and well in Florida.

http://www.palmbeachpost.com/moderndays ... ayslavery/

[janswizard]

Just a further update on this story. It's so sad because they haven't been able to identify 4 of the deceased victims yet.

I can remember when I worked for a large landscaping company in my area. We had Hispanics applying for jobs all the time; and many times they would present identification with the same picture on each piece of identification but with different names attributed. When I questioned it, I was told by my employers that it is not up to the employer to verify; only Immigration can question this. Somehow seems so wrong when you consider that problems like that make it hard to determine someone's identity in the case of an accident so horrific as this one.

http://www.tcpalm.com/tcp/local_news/ar ... 52,00.html