Pin Wizard
<font color=deeppink>I now have a new favorite at
- Joined
- Jan 8, 2002
- Messages
- 17,262
So sad!
By Dani Davies and Eliot Kleinberg, Palm Beach Post Staff Writers
Wednesday, July 24, 2002
A truck driver slammed into a line of traffic stopped on Florida's Turnpike near Boca Raton Tuesday, crushing a car and killing a woman and her two children, investigators said.
The 2:15 p.m. wreck blocked northbound lanes of the turnpike for the next three hours.
Authorities said late Tuesday they were looking for a mystery wrecker they believe started the jam by blocking traffic and then fleeing after the deadly crash.
Killed instantly were Renee Woss, 31, of suburban Boca Raton, her son Ramon Paez, 12, and her daughter, Andrea Brunner, 5, said Florida Highway Patrol Lt. Pat Santangelo.
A person who answered the phone at the Woss' home Tuesday night said the family did not want to comment. Paez' father, in the Lake Worth area, could not be reached.
Ramon Paez had been staying with his mother for the summer, Santangelo said.
The driver of the 18-wheeler, Diosvany Fundora of suburban West Palm Beach, was in serious condition at Delray Medical Center Tuesday night, a nursing supervisor said. Fundora's family also could not be reached for comment.
The crash occurred as traffic was backed up by the wrecker, Santangelo said. As Fundora's truck crested the overpass, he "failed to observe the stopped traffic in front of him," he said. The truck then slammed into, then over Woss' black Mazda, crushing it.
The 18-wheeler then clipped a Dodge van, which crossed three lanes and struck the median wall, Santangelo said. He said the truck next struck the rear of a 2001 Chevrolet, which also crossed the lanes and struck the median.
Minutes later, a dump truck tried to squeeze between lanes and sideswiped three other cars, causing minor damage, Santangelo said. No one else was hurt, he said. The dump truck left the scene; its driver could be charged with a misdemeanor, Santangelo said.
Traffic homicide investigator Cpl. Bob Borman examined the skid marks in the outside lane and deep, white gouge marks in the black pavement, which the Mazda made as the truck crushed it. He said it looked as if Fundora never hit his brakes.
"We don't understand why it took him so long to stop," Borman said.
"We're very, very close to making contact" with the driver of the wrecker, Santangelo said late Tuesday. "We have very, very good information as to who that wrecker (driver) should be."
If investigators determine the wrecker driver contributed to the crash and knowingly fled a collision that caused deaths, he or she could face several charges, some of them felonies, Santangelo said.
A car had been in a crash nearby earlier in the day, and the owner had called a wrecker to pick it up, Santangelo said. He said a truck broke an axle later in the day, also nearby.
Investigators late Tuesday were checking to see if those vehicles were connected to the errant wrecker. But, he said, "We do know the wrecker was blocking the road."
Wreckers entering traffic to pick up vehicles are supposed to get the Highway Patrol to set up warnings at a distance and divert traffic, Santangelo said.
"The wrecker absolutely was a contributing cause to the crash," Santangelo said. "There's no question about it."
Two supervisors from Fundora's employer, Eastern Metal Supply, lingered as Palm Beach County Fire Rescue workers cut through the car to retrieve the bodies.
"This is such a tragic thing," general manager Craig Lightle said. "It's very unusual for us. We haven't had any serious accidents." He said the company had been in Lake Worth for two decades.
Lightle and purchasing manager John Cooper described Fundora, whom they call "D," as a reliable, hard-working employee who never caused problems at work. He had driven to North Miami with a delivery of industrial metals and was returning to Lake Worth when the crash happened, Lightle said.
According to state driving records, Diosvany Fundora received seven speeding tickets between 1993 and April 2002. He was found guilty on three and judgment was withheld on four. One of those four was for driving 113 mph in a 70-mph zone on Interstate 95 in St. Lucie County. Another was for driving 70 mph in a 45-mph zone in Martin County.
Jail records also show that Fundora was arrested Oct. 9 on a charge of simple battery. Resolution of that case could not be determined Tuesday night.
Fundora also was in an accident in May 1993 and another one in 1998, according to state records. He was convicted of three traffic violations in the first case and judgment was held in the other case.
"I heard brakes, I looked up, and I seen the other van coming at me," said Liesolette R. McLaughlin, 66, of Port St. John, near Cocoa.
Her car was rear-ended by the van Fundora's truck clipped, but suffered minor damage. McLaughlin said she was not hurt. She said she did not see the truck strike the Mazda.
Staff writer Jenica Lopez and staff researchers Melissa Taylor, Dorothy Shea and Sammy Alzofon contributed to this report.
By Dani Davies and Eliot Kleinberg, Palm Beach Post Staff Writers
Wednesday, July 24, 2002
A truck driver slammed into a line of traffic stopped on Florida's Turnpike near Boca Raton Tuesday, crushing a car and killing a woman and her two children, investigators said.
The 2:15 p.m. wreck blocked northbound lanes of the turnpike for the next three hours.
Authorities said late Tuesday they were looking for a mystery wrecker they believe started the jam by blocking traffic and then fleeing after the deadly crash.
Killed instantly were Renee Woss, 31, of suburban Boca Raton, her son Ramon Paez, 12, and her daughter, Andrea Brunner, 5, said Florida Highway Patrol Lt. Pat Santangelo.
A person who answered the phone at the Woss' home Tuesday night said the family did not want to comment. Paez' father, in the Lake Worth area, could not be reached.
Ramon Paez had been staying with his mother for the summer, Santangelo said.
The driver of the 18-wheeler, Diosvany Fundora of suburban West Palm Beach, was in serious condition at Delray Medical Center Tuesday night, a nursing supervisor said. Fundora's family also could not be reached for comment.
The crash occurred as traffic was backed up by the wrecker, Santangelo said. As Fundora's truck crested the overpass, he "failed to observe the stopped traffic in front of him," he said. The truck then slammed into, then over Woss' black Mazda, crushing it.
The 18-wheeler then clipped a Dodge van, which crossed three lanes and struck the median wall, Santangelo said. He said the truck next struck the rear of a 2001 Chevrolet, which also crossed the lanes and struck the median.
Minutes later, a dump truck tried to squeeze between lanes and sideswiped three other cars, causing minor damage, Santangelo said. No one else was hurt, he said. The dump truck left the scene; its driver could be charged with a misdemeanor, Santangelo said.
Traffic homicide investigator Cpl. Bob Borman examined the skid marks in the outside lane and deep, white gouge marks in the black pavement, which the Mazda made as the truck crushed it. He said it looked as if Fundora never hit his brakes.
"We don't understand why it took him so long to stop," Borman said.
"We're very, very close to making contact" with the driver of the wrecker, Santangelo said late Tuesday. "We have very, very good information as to who that wrecker (driver) should be."
If investigators determine the wrecker driver contributed to the crash and knowingly fled a collision that caused deaths, he or she could face several charges, some of them felonies, Santangelo said.
A car had been in a crash nearby earlier in the day, and the owner had called a wrecker to pick it up, Santangelo said. He said a truck broke an axle later in the day, also nearby.
Investigators late Tuesday were checking to see if those vehicles were connected to the errant wrecker. But, he said, "We do know the wrecker was blocking the road."
Wreckers entering traffic to pick up vehicles are supposed to get the Highway Patrol to set up warnings at a distance and divert traffic, Santangelo said.
"The wrecker absolutely was a contributing cause to the crash," Santangelo said. "There's no question about it."
Two supervisors from Fundora's employer, Eastern Metal Supply, lingered as Palm Beach County Fire Rescue workers cut through the car to retrieve the bodies.
"This is such a tragic thing," general manager Craig Lightle said. "It's very unusual for us. We haven't had any serious accidents." He said the company had been in Lake Worth for two decades.
Lightle and purchasing manager John Cooper described Fundora, whom they call "D," as a reliable, hard-working employee who never caused problems at work. He had driven to North Miami with a delivery of industrial metals and was returning to Lake Worth when the crash happened, Lightle said.
According to state driving records, Diosvany Fundora received seven speeding tickets between 1993 and April 2002. He was found guilty on three and judgment was withheld on four. One of those four was for driving 113 mph in a 70-mph zone on Interstate 95 in St. Lucie County. Another was for driving 70 mph in a 45-mph zone in Martin County.
Jail records also show that Fundora was arrested Oct. 9 on a charge of simple battery. Resolution of that case could not be determined Tuesday night.
Fundora also was in an accident in May 1993 and another one in 1998, according to state records. He was convicted of three traffic violations in the first case and judgment was held in the other case.
"I heard brakes, I looked up, and I seen the other van coming at me," said Liesolette R. McLaughlin, 66, of Port St. John, near Cocoa.
Her car was rear-ended by the van Fundora's truck clipped, but suffered minor damage. McLaughlin said she was not hurt. She said she did not see the truck strike the Mazda.
Staff writer Jenica Lopez and staff researchers Melissa Taylor, Dorothy Shea and Sammy Alzofon contributed to this report.
