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    9 killed – including 6 kids – when family’s SUV plunges into Fla. canal in birthday weekend tragedy

    By Katherine Donlevy,

    7 hours ago

    https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=0SJa00_0upxeJG200

    Nine family members were killed — including several young children — when a packed SUV on Monday ran off a South Florida road, crashed into a guardrail and landed upside down in a canal, officials said.

    Only one passenger survived the deadly wreck and was hospitalized in serious condition.

    “I’ve been with the department for 20 years, and this is one of the most difficult scenes I’ve been on,” Palm Beach County Fire Rescue Capt. Tom Reyes said.

    The tragedy occurred around 7:30 p.m. as the four adults and six children from out of state passed through Belle Glade and came to a sharp left curve, the Palm Beach Sherrif’s Office said.

    https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=0Nkf4W_0upxeJG200
    The driver lost control of the SUV, smashed into a guardrail and plunged into a nearby canal, police said.

    Driver Pamela Wiggins, who would have turned 57 on Tuesday, failed to negotiate the turn “for undetermined reasons” and careened off the road, according to police.

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    The SUV smashed into the guardrail, flipped and tumbled into the water — where it became so submerged that only its wheels were visible, Reyes said.

    Four victims were pronounced dead at the scene and five others died at the hospital, according to police.

    The dead include six children: 1-year-old Naleia Tucker; 3-year-old Ziaire Mack; 5-year-olds Yasire Smith and Kamdien Edwards; 8-year-old Imani Andre Ajani Hall and 14-year-old Michael Anthony Hall Jr.

    https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=1qOrOe_0upxeJG200
    Little Kamdien Edwards, 5, was one of the six kids killed in the tragedy.

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    Leiana Alyse Hall, 30; Anyia Monique Lee Tucker, 21, and Wiggins were also killed.

    Jorden Rickey Hall, 26, is the lone survivor of the tragedy and is in serious condition.

    The family — who hailed from Bridgeport, Connecticut and Chesapeake, Virginia — was visiting Florida for a family member’s birthday party, according to grieving loved ones.

    https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=30rnXG_0upxeJG200
    Rescuers said only the wheels of the car were visible in the water.

    The crash occurred on the final day of the trip, Anntianette Edwards, who lost her son Kamdien, told WPBF.

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    “They were heading to the airport to come back to Connecticut,” Anntianette said.

    The family was driving a 2023 Ford Explorer, which has a maximum capacity of seven people, according to Ford dealership websites.

    https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=29lhKo_0upxeJG200
    Family members said the group was in Florida to celebrate a birthday. AP

    None of the passengers in the overloaded car were wearing seatbelts at the time of the fatal wreck, police said.

    Police are investigating the cause of the crash.

    Belle Glade is a farming community just south of Lake Okeechobee and about 45 miles west of West Palm Beach.

    With Post Wires

    For top headlines, breaking news and more, visit nypost.com.

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