PALM BEACH COUNTY, Fla. – The National Transportation Safety Board has joined the investigation after an SUV crashed into a canal in Palm Beach County on Monday night, killing nine people, including six children, and injuring one other person.
Local 10 News learned Tuesday that all of the victims were family members.
“That’s when I got the call from my father -- that they all were gone,” said Anntianette Edwards, the mother of one of the crash victims.
The NTSB and Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office are investigating the circumstances leading up to the single-vehicle crash that occurred shortly after 7:30 p.m. Monday on Southwest Conners Highway near Belle Glade.
Speaking at a news conference Wednesday, NTSB board member Alvin Brown said the agency will release a report on the crash in 30 days.
“Our mission is to understand not just what happened, but why it happened, to recommend changes to prevent it from happening again,” he said.
Palm Beach County Fire Rescue crews responded to the scene and found the Ford Explorer upside down in the water, with only its wheels visible.
Investigators say the driver of the SUV failed to turn while approaching a curve, causing the SUV to slam into a guardrail before flipping over into the nearby canal.
Authorities confirmed that 10 people were inside the vehicle, four of whom were pronounced dead at the scene.
NTSB UPDATE:
The six others were hospitalized, two of whom were airlifted to a trauma center with critical injuries.
PBSO confirmed that five of the victims died at the hospital, bringing the death count to nine and leaving only one survivor -- 26-year-old Jorden Hall, who is now listed in serious condition at a West Palm Beach hospital.
The victims killed in the crash were identified as 56-year-old Pamela Wiggins, 30-year-old Leiana Hall, 21-year-old Anyia Tucker, 14-year old Michael Anthony Hall, 8-year-old Imani Hall, 5-year-olds Kamdien Edwards and Yasire Smith, 3-year-old Zaire Mack and 23-month-old Naleia Tucker.
Roadside crews returned to the crash site Wednesday morning, repairing the section of guardrail that was damaged in the crash.
“It’s like a bad dream -- just a dream,” Anntianette Edwards, who is the mother of Kamdien, said.
Relatives of the victims spoke to reporters in Connecticut Tuesday.
“He was getting ready to start kindergarten. He was cheerful, funny, not scared of nothing, a daredevil. He was just a happy baby,” Edwards said.
The victims were traveling from Connecticut, Virginia and Jamaica to celebrate a family member’s birthday.
Hall’s family told reporters that he was trying to save his relatives after their SUV came to a rest in the water.
“He managed to get all of the babies out of the car, but there was too much water in their lungs,” Edwards said.
“This is a serious devastation to our family,” said Antoine Wright, who is a cousin of the victims.
Family members have created a GoFundMe page to help with funeral expenses, and it can be found by clicking here.
Officials are asking anyone with information about the crash to contact them at witness@ntsb.gov.