It was a weekend to honor a beloved family matriarch, who was joined by generations of loved ones during her disco-themed 80th birthday celebration.
However, it ended tragically when an SUV carrying ten family members across South Florida veered off a two-lane country road and into a canal in a secluded area of western Palm Beach County, killing nine individuals, six of whom were children.
Patricia Edwards’ extended family and loved ones flew from all over the country to celebrate her on Saturday, as she entered her eighth decade dressed in tie-dye bell bottoms and peace sign jewelry, according to social media posts.
“Just wanted to say (thank you) to all my family who came to Florida for my mom’s 80th birthday party,” her daughter Pamela Wiggins wrote on Facebook.
“My mom really enjoyed herself, and I will post pictures later,” Wiggins wrote just after midnight on Monday. “(L) love you all.” But Wiggins, 56, never had the opportunity to share all of those images and memories. Less than eight hours later, she was pronounced dead after investigators discovered that the 2023 Ford Explorer she was driving, with nine of her family members inside, had gone off a rural section of Hatton Highway near Belle Glade and fallen upside down into a roadside canal.
Four persons were pronounced dead at the spot, and five died in the hospital. In addition to Wiggins, the deceased were identified as Leiana Alyse Hall, 30, Anyia Monique Lee Tucker, 21, Michael Anthony Hall Jr., 14, Imani Andre Ajani Hall, 8, Kamdien Edwards, 5, Yasire Smith, 5, Ziaire Mack, 3, and Naleia Tucker, 1. Jorden Rickey Hall, 26, was rescued and is said to be in bad condition.
The National Transportation Safety Board, a government organization that examines certain automobile accidents, became aware of the tragedy. Board member Alvin Brown stated at a news conference that investigators arrived in Belle Glade on Tuesday and will work with Palm Beach County deputies for the next week. A preliminary report should be ready within a month.
“We investigate crashes that we can learn from, that are catastrophic in nature,” according to Brown. “We have the best investigators in the country; we set the gold standard. And we believe that the crash was a devastating, horrible incident, which is why we are here.
It’s the latest catastrophe to hit South Florida’s extensive network of man-made canals and rivers, which were created to drain the immense green wetlands of the Everglades and Lake Okeechobee.
Representatives from the state Department of Health and the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles stated that their organizations do not particularly track deaths caused by canal crashes.
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However, a 2001 study by the South Florida Sun-Sentinel revealed that almost 100 people died after their automobiles crashed into canals or bodies of water in Broward, Miami-Dade, and Palm Beach Counties over five years in the late 1990s.
Investigators say Wiggins lost control of her vehicle while driving west down a two-lane road in a remote region of the county where sugarcane fields stretch endlessly to the horizon and agricultural canals side the highways.
According to the crash report, Wiggins failed to make a left turn as the road curved south, causing the car to collide with a guardrail before crashing in the canal below.
This area of the county, near Lake Okeechobee, is approximately 40 miles (65 kilometers) distant from the beautiful sands of Palm Beach Island. Instead of palm trees, acres of sugarcane dominate the scene.
“The terrain out there is largely rural and agricultural. It’s honestly not dissimilar to most rural agricultural communities around the country,” said Eric Dumbaugh, director of Florida Atlantic University’s road safety center in Palm Beach County.
According to Dumbaugh, crashes on rural highways like this one frequently follow a pattern in which drivers enter a state of “highway hypnosis” – driving down a flat, straight, and often dark road until a bend surprises them. “And then all of a sudden there’s a sharp turn,” he told me. “There’s typically not much of a shoulder there, so if you run off the road, you’ll hit whatever is on the side of it. Which could be a tree, correct? It could be a ditch. Or, in Palm Beach County, it’s usually a canal.”
The accident is still affecting the victims’ loved ones, who were celebrating a big family milestone only days before.
“I keep saying it’s a nightmare,” family member Dawn Wiggins-Ely wrote on Facebook. “Lord we need you.”