Friends and relatives of five close pals who were killed in a horrific wrong-way car crash in Florida over the weekend — including an NYU-bound artist — are mourning their loss and demanding justice.
According to police, Maiky Simeon, 30, was speeding against traffic on the Palmetto Expressway around 4:30 a.m. Saturday when he smashed directly into a Honda sedan carrying the five victims.
The victims, aged 18-25, were identified as: Valeria Cáceres, Daniela Marcano, Valeria Peña, Giancarlo Arias and Briana Pacalagua, who was the driver.
Arias, the Miami Herald reported, was heading to college at New York University and the group was celebrating his receipt of a scholarship.
“Gian, I never got to tell you how proud I was of you… You were such a talented role model and a beautiful soul,” a former teacher wrote on his Instagram page, the paper reported. “In my 21 years of teaching, this is the first time I’ve ever felt such a loss.”
Pacalagua’s younger sister, Kiara Pacalagua, set up a GoFundMe page in her sibling’s honor that has raised more than $11,000 as of Monday.
“There’s no easy way to express how I feel,” she wrote. “My big sister just passed and there are no words to describe how our family can cope with this loss.”
Friend Lesly Mejas wrote a tribute to the five victims online, according to the Herald.
“Today 5 lives are no longer part of this earthly plane, 5 lives full of dreams, goals, and purposes today will no longer be part of us,” she wrote. “It hurts a lot to know that such young and talented people will not be able to achieve what they had one day dreamed but it hurts me more to know that family, friends, and all their loved ones will have to go through immense pain.”
Simeon was extracted from his vehicle after the crash and remains hospitalized.
According to reports, Simeon lost his license in 2014 for driving 109 miles per hour in a 70 mph zone but eventually got his driving privileges back.
Cops are still investigating the circumstances of Saturday’s wreck.
Comments