Photo: Go Fund Me
An 11-year-old boy died Wednesday of injuries sustained in a Florida car crash thatalso claimed the livesof his mother, sister and grandmother one day prior.
Jaxon Smith, of Whitman, Massachusetts, died Wednesday afternoon at Arnold Palmer Hospital in Orlando, Lt. Kim Montes of the Florida Highway Patrol confirms to PEOPLE.
He was reportedly airlifted to the hospital in critical condition and put on life support after the Tuesday night crash, which killed his 5-year-old sister Scarlett Smith, mom Julie Smith, 41, and grandmother Josephine Fay, 76, of South Weymouth, Massachusetts.
Jaxon’s father Shane Smith, 43, and grandfather William Fay, 76, were both injured in the crash, and both have since been treated and released from the hospital,WBZreported.
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Scarlett’s twin sister Skylar and older sister Shalie Smith, 10, were also in the van, and both were treated for minor injuries and released as well, according to the outlet.
Family friend Mike Finn toldWBZhe spoke with William Fay on Wednesday morning, and that the grieving man seemed grateful that the crash happened as quickly as it did.
“Mr. Fay told us that it was extremely fast, they didn’t think that anybody suffered,” Finn said. “It was instantaneous.”
The deaths have sent shockwaves through the small Whitman community, which has a population of just under 15,000 people.
“Our souls are crying,” Helen Iannone, who runs the youth soccer league that Jaxon played in, told WBZ. “It’s just devastating and there’s a lot of tears in this town right now.”
The soccer league announced onFacebookit would host a candlelight prayer service for the family on Friday at the local middle school field.
Michelle Ashburn has a 5-year-old daughter who was close friends with Scarlett, and she told theBoston Globethe tragedy was a difficult thing to explain to her child.
“It’s hard because you don’t know how much these kids understand,” she said. “They focus on all the good stuff and something horrible has happened.”
AGoFundMe pagefor the surviving family members has so far raised more than $2,000.
The car accident occurred just miles away from Walt Disney World, somewhere Merry Deb Learning Center director Darlene Staples said Scarlett and Skylar, her students, were looking forward to visiting.
“They were so excited about going. They loved school, they loved their friends, they loved playing. We’re just trying to deal with it right now. It’s unimaginable,” she told WBZ. “They’re a beautiful family. Our hearts are broken and we’ll do everything that we can to support them in any way we can.”
PEOPLE was not able to immediately reach Laurindo, who is facing pending charges, for comment.
Montes told theGlobethat Laurindo did not show any signs of impairment and has cooperated with the Florida Highway Patrol’s crash investigation.
The rear-end caused a chain-reaction collision that struck two other vehicles, but those cars only sustained minor damage and the drivers were not injured, the Florida Highway Patrol said.
source: people.com
