[kellyhound]

June 11, 2008 SANFORD
5 people were killed late Tuesday when their vehicle slammed into a stationary freight train at 18th Street and Southwest Road near Sanford.

William Preston, 21, did not make an attempt to stop before crashing between two train cars just before midnight on Tuesday, said FHP Sgt. Jorge Delahoz. It took several hours to remove four bodies from the smashed truck. A fifth person was taken to Orlando Regional Medical Center and later died at the hospital.

Troopers identified Preston, of DeBary; and passengers William H. Richardson, 54, of Sanford; and Jeffrey Daniels, 48, of Longwood, as the occupants killed in the accident. The names of the remaining victims have not been released.

Law enforcement estimated that the truck was traveling more than 50 mph at the time of the crash.

The crossing arms were down and the lights were flashing at the railroad crossing at the time of the crash, Delahoz said.

A street light in the area was out, making the area difficult to see, said Lt. Don Rufo, from the Seminole County Sheriff's Office

No one on the train was hurt.

Several hours before the crash, deputies had tried to pull over the driver of the Avalanche, but he failed to stop, Rufo said. Deputies did not have enough of a reason to pursue the truck after he fled and did not continue after him.

Rufo did not elaborate on the reason for the initial stop.

Late Tuesday, deputies spotted the car driving on Highway 17-92 near 25th Street and officers attempted to block the car near Americana, Rufo said. Deputies were not engaged in a chase at this point, Rufo said. The sheriff's office helicopter was tracking the truck from the air.

The Avalanche eluded police again and went around the roadblock. A short distance away, a sergeant was ready to deploy stop sticks to get the truck to stop, Rufo said. It was unclear whether the sticks were deployed, but troopers said the truck's tires were not damaged by the device.

"I do know that there was no active chase," sheriff's spokesman Lt. Dennis Lemma wrote in an e-mail this morning. "I believe that authorities (Sanford Police or SCSO) attempted to stop the vehicle earlier, but it failed to yield. The law enforcement officers disengaged prior to the crash."

Troopers have not identified any of the people who died in the crash but believe all of the victims are adults. The driver was the only person in the truck who was wearing a seatbelt.

"It's a tragedy," Rufo said. "The loss of life is a tragedy no matter the circumstances."

[chris]

Holy shit, this happened right down the street from me and I didn't even hear about it.

[eryan725]

wow...it looks like they were all ready to die...probably high on drugs

[MisterX]

holy jeez they didnt even attempt to stop

[MisterX]

good post

[davebaron666]

They must been thinking, we can just squeeze the car to the other side.

So they did.

[Wildrice]

Those look like jail mugshots.

[DISTURBED23]

Did he have his eyes closed

[minka1]

Originally Posted by davebaron666 ↗

They must been thinking, we can just squeeze the car to the other side. So they did.

"we can just squeeze the car to the other side" They sure did try!

Did someone get thrown out of the windshield? on the other side of the train? I guess it could have been part of the truck...they probably all ended up looking like smashed potatoes...yuck! crazy ass criminals

[Den777]

It looks to me like the driver was watching cross-traffic at the intersection just before impact. Then looked ahead and hit the breaks at the very last moment.