POINCIANA, Fla. — A woman is grieving the loss of her mother and three children after the Florida Highway Patrol said a 15-year-old driver ran a stop sign on Sunday evening in Poinciana.
"I'm dying inside. I don't get to see my children anymore. I don't get to see my mother anymore," Sabrina Hernandez told WKMG.
The Orlando CBS affiliate reports that Hernandez was anxiously waiting for her mother to return with her three young children — ages 1, 9 and 11 — ahead of a day off from school for Labor Day on Monday when she started to hear sirens.
"My son called me and said, 'Mommy we are 15 minutes away,' and I said, 'Okay, I'll see you in a bit, I love you.' And he said, 'I love you, too.'" Hernandez said to WKMG at the scene of the crash. “And I’m sitting on the couch waiting, and after like 30 minutes and I’m still hearing sirens and stuff, I was thinking to myself they were supposed to be here, they were supposed to be here.”
That's when she said she had a "gut feeling something was wrong," got in her car and "followed the helicopter" to the crash.
According to troopers, a 2012 Chevrolet Impala was speeding on Laurel Avenue, approaching a stop sign at the intersection of San Miguel Street. At the same time, a 2022 Honda HR-V was driving on San Miguel Street approaching the same intersection.
This was when the 15-year-old driver in the Impala blew through the stop sign and ended up crashing into the left side of the SUV, state troopers said.
The crash sent the SUV into a grass shoulder before it collided with a light pole.
FHP explained the driver of the SUV, identified by Hernandez as her 50-year-old mother, was pronounced dead on scene. The three kids died because of the crash, as well. A vigil was held on Monday in honor of the lives lost.
A passenger in the SUV, a 52-year-old man, was left with serious injuries.
The teen driver accused of running the stop sign was taken to Osceola Regional Hospital with serious injuries while his three passengers – who were all also 15 – were taken to HCA Florida Poinciana Hospital with minor injuries.
An investigation into the crash is ongoing.
