Girl killed when van flips after dodging seat cushion
By Associated Press
Published May 17, 2004
KISSIMMEE - An 11-year-old girl died Sunday after the van she was riding in swerved to avoid a boat's seat cushion and overturned on Florida's Turnpike.
Guadalupe Barrios, of Lake Worth, was riding home with 11 other children and chaperones from a YMCA camping trip in Gainesville when the accident occurred at about 11 a.m., Florida Highway Patrol Lt. Pat Santangelo said.
The YMCA rental van was traveling behind a pickup truck, which was towing a boat, Santangelo said. The seat cushion fell from the boat trailer onto the roadway, causing van driver Janel Larkin, 23, of West Palm Beach, to swerve.
The van then overturned several times in the median. Eleven passengers were wearing seat belts, but it was unclear whether Guadalupe was, Santangelo said.
Guadalupe and a boy in the van, Moises Rivera, 8, of Lake Worth, were airlifted to Orlando Regional Medical Center. She died there and he had serious injuries, officials said.
The rest of the people in the van were brought to Florida Hospital in Kissimmee with minor injuries. Three adults were on the trip with nine children.
The pickup driver, Keith McCray, 26, of Kissimmee, stopped at the scene, Santangelo said. Investigators might charge him with transporting an unsecured load.
One lane of traffic was closed for several hours on the southbound side of the turnpike, about 15 miles south of Orlando, Santangelo said.
