'People Are Gonna Die' Former PBC Commissioner Warned About Hatton Hwy

An SUV plunges into a canal near Belle Glade, killing nine people and a former Palm Beach County official is speaking out.

Melissa McKinlay spent eight years as a county commissioner, representing the area where Hatton Highway sits.

She tells CBS 12 News that what happened Monday night was inevitable.

"There's no shoulder, the roadway markings are poor, the pavement condition is terrible, there are no lights. There are no guardrails on most of the road. There are two very dangerous turns."

One of those curves was the one that an NTSB official says Pamela Wiggins missed, leading to the deadly crash that took the lives of six children and three adults. Only one person survived.

The posted speed limit is 55 miles per hour and there's only one flashing sign that warns of a drop to 20 miles per hour ahead of the curve.

The current commissioner over that district says state money is being freed up for major repairs to rural highways like this one.