A report from the Florida Highway Patrol is providing new insight into the sad accident that occurred while three high school students from Massachusetts were on a spring break vacation to Florida. The accident resulted in the deaths of three of the students and left another student in critical condition.
Jimmy McIntosh, 18, and Hannah Wasserman, 17, both of Concord-Carlisle High School, were pronounced dead on April 21 at approximately 9:30 p.m.; they were involved in a collision with a tractor-trailer that was traveling on U.S. Highway 98 in Walton County. McIntosh was driving the vehicle that was involved in the collision.
Additionally, another passenger in the vehicle, Maisey O’Donnell, who was 18 years old and a fellow student at Concord-Carlisle, passed away in the hospital after the accident. There was a fourth passenger who was left in critical condition; their identity has not been disclosed.
The Boston Globe said that McIntosh was driving at rates of around 110 miles per hour on the highway, which has a speed limit of 65 miles per hour. That information was derived from the crash report.
It was while the tractor-trailer was attempting to make a U-turn that the automobile driven by McIntosh collided with it. It was driven by Kadyn DeWayne Ainsworth, who was 19 years old at the time, and it was apparently traveling at rates of approximately 20 miles per hour. Neither he nor his passenger sustained any injuries as a result of the mishap.
Following the incident, the Hyundai SUV traveled across the highway before coming to a stop “in the wood line on the south side of the highway,” according to an earlier report from the Florida Highway Patrol that was cited by the source.
The new crash report was cited by The Globe as evidence that McIntosh’s vehicle suffered a roof loss as a result of the accident.
Although Ainsworth was subjected to drug and alcohol testing, the results of those tests were not disclosed, as stated in the report. Officials who were present at the incident stated that they did not have any reason to assume that he was under the influence of alcohol or drugs. Testing of a comparable nature was not performed on McIntosh.
In a statement that was provided to the Globe, Lieutenant Jim Beauford, who is the chief of public affairs for the Florida Highway Patrol, mentioned that this was being handled as a criminal inquiry during the probe. In his statement to the publication, he stated that there would be no charges brought until the inquiry was finished.
“We understand the public’s desire for a quick resolution to these criminal investigations; however, it is more important that we conduct the best investigation possible for the people that are involved,” he stated in an email. “We are here to help.”
Dr. Gary Howerton, who was on the highway at the time of the accident and attempted to provide assistance to those who were involved, stated to the Globe that McIntosh’s automobile “blew by me like I was standing still.”
There was a period when he estimated that he was traveling at rates of approximately 72 miles per hour.
In the beginning, I thought to myself, ‘Oh no.’ When he mentioned that he had heard the collision, he indicated that something terrible was going to occur as a result of the manner in which he was driving.
“This car was just going so fast,” he said to the publication, indicating that the truck looked to have enough time to perform the U-turn.
“It was something that should not have taken place,” he stated.
“Humble with a kind heart” is how her coach Joe Chirico described O’Donnell, who won the state diving championship and is going to attend Williams College.
She was looked up to by the other divers as well as by the children who were younger than her. According to what he said, “It is a tragedy that somebody who was at the top of their game, going to the best academic school, and one of the best divers in the nation was cut so short during their career.”
The tribute that her lover Warren Hansel gave to her was posted on Instagram. He said, “There are so many things I love about you and so many things I’m going to miss.” He also added, “You are not just the love of my life but my best friend.”
