8 dead, 10 injured in church van crash after Palm Sunday celebration in Fort Myers
March 31--FORT PIERCE, Fla. -- It was a festive Palm Sunday gathering between two church congregations founded by friends who grew up together in Haiti.
But it ended in a horrific tragedy.
Eighteen people were on their way home to Fort Pierce from Fort Myers early Monday when investigators say their15-seat van drove through a stop sign and into a canal.
The crash along State Road 78 in Glades County killed eight passengers and injured the other 10, among them a 4-year-old girl who was discharged from Lee Memorial Hospital Monday. Names of all the deceased haven't yet been released, said FHP spokesman Lt. Greg Bueno.
"They didn't see that stop sign. They shot right through it," Glades County Sheriff's Office Chief Deputy Duane Pottorff said. "It was a sad evening."
Crash reports show the van was traveling east along State Road 78 approaching a stop sign at the intersection of U.S. 27 when the van passed through all lanes of U.S. 27 and into a steep ditch, partially filled with water.
The van came to a rest upright at the bottom of the ditch, which was about 8 to 10 feet deep, reports show.
Survivor Mozaire Nore, who suffered a fractured leg in the accident, said the driver didn't notice a curve in the road in Moore Haven and that, coupled with a brake failure, meant he couldn't stop in time, he said through his interpreter and niece, Stephanie Pierre.
Nore said he is a migrant farm laborer who travels to New Jersey and New York to pick apples, watermelons, and other produce.
Pierre said he is very devout and prays each morning. He has lived in Fort Pierce for 30 years.
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Veronica Cyrus, 18, said she was working at McDonald's when she received a call about the accident. She's a church member.
"I'm shocked; it's unreal," Cyrus said.
Church member Linda Dolce said her grandmother, Dazilia Joseph, 80, died in the crash and had arrived from Haiti six years ago and leaves behind 10 children.
"She loved singing and helping people," Dolce said. "She was exciting; She was the best lady to us."
Twice a year, the Rev. Matthieu Clerveau of Fort Myers gets together with the Rev. Esperant Lexine of Fort Pierce for revival services.
The van had left Lexine's church, the Independent Haitian Assembly of God in Fort Pierce, at 4 p.m. Sunday for a revival at Clerveau's church, the Eglise De Dieu La Jerusalem Celesteinc in Fort Myers on Palm Sunday.
Before he started his church in Southwest Florida, Clerveau lived in Fort Pierce for 19 years and was a member of Independent, he said. He led Bible studies at the church before moving to Fort Myers in the mid-1990s and becoming a pastor. Lexine, who was injured in the wreck, was key to Clerveau becoming a pastor, he said.
"They left my church about 10:45 p.m. Sunday," Clerveau said. "I called Pastor Lexine about 12:30 a.m., and I got no answer."
He woke up at 2 a.m. when his cellphone rang. Someone in Fort Pierce asked him if he had heard from Lexine's group. Clerveau began making calls and learned of the Glades County crash involving the church van.
Clerveau drove to Lee Memorial Hospital in Lee County to speak with five people who were injured in the crash early Monday morning. About noon, Clerveau said he was heading to Fort Pierce to comfort the congregation there.
Meanwhile, congregation members at the Fort Pierce church gathered Monday to mourn the deaths. Dina Sarver of Independent Haitian Assembly of God said many members of the 150-person congregation came to the church to pray after hearing the news.
"It's gonna be tough, especially because you know we have eight funerals, eight families left behind," said Sarver, who is Lexine's daughter. "Everybody's praying for the people who are still critical. Just keep us in mind."
Lexine, 57, has been pastor of the church for the past 36 years, she said.
It took deputies four minutes to respond to the scene of the crash after a 911 call came in at about 12:31 a.m.
"It's very rural out there," Sarver said. "I know that it took some time for EMS to get out there. It took us a while to get out there to the nearest hospital."
The FHP's Bueno said that at the time of the crash, it wasn't foggy in Glades County, which is west of Lake Okeechobee. But there is no lighting on the stretch of road, and the T-intersection is surrounded by farmland.
On Monday morning, the van -- with "Independent Haitian Church of Reformation" written on its side -- had been loaded onto the back of a flatbed truck. The front of the van was smashed in and the door had been removed.
The 10 who injured were identified as:
Jose Zimero, 26; Clodette Fleurvil, 44; Inocent Roseme, 89; Jean Rafael, 73; Nzaire Nore, 48; Nicholas Alexis, 57; Macaty Jean Jacques, 53; Marilia Dieudonne, 65; Faeyana Desirus, 4; and Lexine, the pastor.
Zimero, Fleurvil, Jacques, Dieudonne and Faeyana were taken to Lee Memorial Hospital. Faeyana was released Monday while Zimero and Dieudonne were still in serious condition. Fleurvil was listed in critical condition and Jacques was in fair condition.
Journal Media Group reporters from the Treasure Coast contributed to this report.
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