logo
3 Massachusetts high school seniors — including state diving champion — killed in Florida car crash during spring break

3 Massachusetts high school seniors — including state diving champion — killed in Florida car crash during spring break

New York Post23-04-2025

Three Massachusetts high school seniors — including a two-time state diving champion — were killed in a horrific car crash that also left a fourth student fighting for their life during their Florida spring break vacation.
The four Concord-Carlisle High School students, all 18 years old, were driving down Highway 98 near Panama City, Fla., when their SUV collided with a tractor-trailer that was performing a U-turn around 9:28 p.m. on Monday night, according to reports.
The force of the wreck caused the SUV to cross over the median and stop in a wooded area on the opposite side of the highway, Florida Highway Patrol said.
Advertisement
3 Police on the scene of the deadly crash in Walton County, Florida, on April 21, 2025.
Florida Highway Patrol
Jimmy McIntosh and Hannah Wasserman were pronounced dead at the scene.
The two others were rushed to Bay Medical Center in critical condition, where the third, Maisey O'Donnell, was later declared dead. The fourth student, who was not identified, remains in critical condition, NBC Boston.
Advertisement
McIntosh, of Carlisle, Mass., was driving the SUV at the time of the crash and was wearing his seatbelt.
Investigators are still determining whether Wasserman and O'Donnell, of Concord, and the unidentified student were wearing seatbelts during the collision.
The 19-year-old tractor-trailer driver and a passenger were not injured in the incident, WCVB reported.
3 The four 18-year-olds were all students of Concord-Carlisle High School in Massachusetts.
Google Maps
Advertisement
The Florida Highway Patrol said the fatal collision is still under investigation.
Concord-Carlisle Regional School District Superintendent Laurie Hunter confirmed Tuesday that McIntosh, Wasserman and O'Donnell were all killed in the crash.
'We are very appreciative of the outpouring of love during what is absolutely heartbreaking,' Hunter said in a statement, according to the outlet. We also appreciate the wish to feel purposeful and not helpless. At this time, it is most appropriate that no action be taken to honor the students without the full consent of the families and appropriate support for so many young people facing unfathomable loss.'
Concord-Carlisle High School is located about 25 miles outside of Boston.
Advertisement
O'Donnell — a two-time Massachusetts state diving champion, committed to attend Williams College next year — was one of the top divers in the US and a role model to younger athletes, her coach Joe Chirico told WCVB.
3 The fourth student, who was not identified, remains in critical condition.
WBZ News
'It's a tragedy,' Chirico told the outlet. 'The little kids looked up to her, the other divers looked up to her. It's a tragedy, that somebody at the top of their game, going to the best academic school, one of the best divers in the nation, was cut so short.'
The young diving prospect had won MVP, 1st Team All-State, 1st Team All-Area, 1st Team All-Region, 1st Team All-County, and 1st Team All-Conference while on the Concord Carlisle High School team in 2023, according to NCSA Sports.
Wasserman was described as a 'bright light taken far too soon' as loved ones set up a GoFundMe to help the student's parents cover funeral and memorial expenses for their 18-year-old daughter
'Hannah was truly one of a kind: warm-hearted, kind, and always looking out for others,' organizer Rex Riessen wrote. 'She had a way of making everyone feel seen, heard, and loved. Whether it was a friend in need, a classmate having a rough day, or a stranger who needed a smile, Hannah showed up with compassion and care.'

Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Jurors have convicted a Minnesota man of killing 5 young woman in a 2023 vehicle crash

time7 hours ago

Jurors have convicted a Minnesota man of killing 5 young woman in a 2023 vehicle crash

MINNEAPOLIS -- A state court jury convicted a Minneapolis-area man Friday of third-degree murder and vehicular homicide in the deaths of five young women in a crash that authorities said was caused by him speeding, running a red light and slamming into their car. Jurors in Hennepin County District Court deliberated two days before reaching their verdict in the case of Derrick John Thompson, 29, of Brooklyn Park, The Minnesota Star Tribune reported. In November, a federal court jury convicted Thompson on drug and firearms charges because investigators found a handgun, ammunition and illegal drugs in his vehicle after the June 2023 crash, and he is awaiting sentencing in that case. He was convicted Friday of 15 charges and his sentencing is set for July 24. Third-degree murder is unintentionally causing a death through 'eminently dangerous' actions and with 'a depraved mind, without regard for human life.' 'His choices that day scarred many lives and affected an entire community,' Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty told reporters following the verdict, according to KARE-TV. The Minneapolis crash victims — Salma Abdikadir, Siham Adam, Sabiriin Ali, Sahra Gesaade and Sagal Hersi — were between 17 and 20 years old, on their way home from preparations for a friend's wedding. Their deaths sparked sorrow and outage among Minnesota's sizeable Somali American population. Prosecutors have said Thompson was driving a black Cadillac Escalade on a Minnesota freeway at 95 mph (153 kph) in a 55 mph- (89 kph-) speed zone and abruptly cut across four lanes of traffic to exit the freeway, flying by a state highway patrol trooper. Thompson's defense attorney, Tyler Bliss, raised questions about whether Thompson's brother might have played a role in the crash that authorities did not investigate. The brother was not charged and testified that he didn't drive the SUV the night of the crash and Thompson was the last person he saw behind the wheel. Bliss called that testimony 'self-serving.' Thompson previously served part of an eight-year prison sentence in California in connection with a 2018 hit-and-run accident that severely injured a woman in the Santa Barbara area. He was released from prison there months before the crash in Minneapolis. Court records show that Thompson is the son of a former Democratic state representative from St. Paul who was sharply critical of police during his one term in office.

Florida attorney general loses appeal to overturn order blocking immigration law
Florida attorney general loses appeal to overturn order blocking immigration law

Miami Herald

time11 hours ago

  • Miami Herald

Florida attorney general loses appeal to overturn order blocking immigration law

A judicial appeals panel has upheld a temporary injunction blocking the enforcement of a new state law criminalizing undocumented immigrants when they arrive in Florida — notching another victory for immigration advocates in a case that has drawn Florida's attorney general into conflict with a Miami federal judge. The Friday afternoon ruling by a panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit in Atlanta keeps in place a lower court order temporarily preventing police and prosecutors from making arrests and pursuing charges under Florida's SB-4, signed by Gov. Ron DeSantis in February. The law makes it a crime for immigrants to enter the state of Florida if they have been deported or denied entry into the country, or eluded immigration officers when coming into the United States. 'This is a difficult case, and this order does not finally resolve the issues,' states the order, issued by judges Jill Pryor, Kevin Newsom and Embry Kidd. The unsuccessful appeal at the heart of Friday's ruling was brought by Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier, who sought to stay the temporary injunction. Uthmeier has argued that District Court Judge Kathleen Williams overstepped in April when, responding to a lawsuit brought by several undocumented Florida residents who said the law was unconstitutional, she blocked the enforcement of the law. Williams initially issued a restraining order preventing the enforcement of SB-4, and then ordered a broader temporary injunction after learning that state police had continued to make arrests — including an American citizen. Uthmeier's attorneys argued that while Williams' order had bound them from enforcing the law, it didn't apply to 'independent' law enforcement agencies like the Florida Highway Patrol. The attorney general was so adamant in his position that, days later, he wrote a letter to law enforcement agencies telling them he didn't think Williams' order was legitimate — leading the judge to initiate contempt proceedings. In their Friday ruling, the judges waded into the legal skirmish, writing that Uthmeier 'may well be right that the district court's order is impermissibly broad. But that does not warrant what seems to have been at least a veiled threat not to obey it.' A spokesman for Uthmeier's office did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The American Civil Liberties Union, whose attorneys have worked on the case, celebrated the ruling as a significant victory, not just in Florida but around the country as red states move to implement strict immigration laws. 'This ruling is not just a legal victory — it's a resounding rejection of cruelty masquerading as policy,' said Bacardi Jackson, executive director of the ACLU of Florida. The case, brought by the Florida Immigrant Coalition, the Farmworker Association of Florida, will continue on before Judge Williams, who has yet to issue her ruling on whether Uthmeier will be held in contempt of court.

Jurors have convicted a Minnesota man of killing 5 young woman in a 2023 vehicle crash
Jurors have convicted a Minnesota man of killing 5 young woman in a 2023 vehicle crash

San Francisco Chronicle​

time12 hours ago

  • San Francisco Chronicle​

Jurors have convicted a Minnesota man of killing 5 young woman in a 2023 vehicle crash

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — A state court jury convicted a Minneapolis-area man Friday of third-degree murder and vehicular homicide in the deaths of five young women in a crash that authorities said was caused by him speeding, running a red light and slamming into their car. Jurors in Hennepin County District Court deliberated two days before reaching their verdict in the case of Derrick John Thompson, 29, of Brooklyn Park, The Minnesota Star Tribune reported. In November, a federal court jury convicted Thompson on drug and firearms charges because investigators found a handgun, ammunition and illegal drugs in his vehicle after the June 2023 crash, and he is awaiting sentencing in that case. He was convicted Friday of 15 charges and his sentencing is set for July 24. Third-degree murder is unintentionally causing a death through 'eminently dangerous' actions and with 'a depraved mind, without regard for human life.' 'His choices that day scarred many lives and affected an entire community,' Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty told reporters following the verdict, according to KARE-TV. The Minneapolis crash victims — Salma Abdikadir, Siham Adam, Sabiriin Ali, Sahra Gesaade and Sagal Hersi — were between 17 and 20 years old, on their way home from preparations for a friend's wedding. Their deaths sparked sorrow and outage among Minnesota's sizeable Somali American population. Prosecutors have said Thompson was driving a black Cadillac Escalade on a Minnesota freeway at 95 mph (153 kph) in a 55 mph- (89 kph-) speed zone and abruptly cut across four lanes of traffic to exit the freeway, flying by a state highway patrol trooper. Thompson's defense attorney, Tyler Bliss, raised questions about whether Thompson's brother might have played a role in the crash that authorities did not investigate. The brother was not charged and testified that he didn't drive the SUV the night of the crash and Thompson was the last person he saw behind the wheel. Bliss called that testimony 'self-serving.' Thompson previously served part of an eight-year prison sentence in California in connection with a 2018 hit-and-run accident that severely injured a woman in the Santa Barbara area. He was released from prison there months before the crash in Minneapolis. Court records show that Thompson is the son of a former Democratic state representative from St. Paul who was sharply critical of police during his one term in office.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into the world of global news and events? Download our app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store