It was a weekend filled with love and laughter for a family matriarch as she celebrated her 80th birthday.
Unfortunately, tragedy struck as her family was traveling through South Florida.
An SUV carrying 10 people, six of them children, crashed into a canal in a remote area of Palm Beach County.
On Saturday, Patricia’s relatives and friends from all over the country came to celebrate her special day.
According to her social media posts, she looked stunning as she wore tie-dyed bell bottoms and jewelry with peace sign rings.
Her daughter, Pamela Wiggins, thanked everyone who attended her mother’s 80th birthday party in Florida.
Shortly after midnight on Monday, Wiggins posted a message to her friends and family saying that she would post photos of her mother later that day.
Unfortunately, she never got to share the photos and memories of her mother due to the tragic accident that occurred.
Around eight hours later, the officers found the Ford Explorer that she was driving upside down in a canal.
The vehicle, which was carrying nine passengers, had veered off the road near Belle Glade.
At the scene, four people died, and five died at the hospital. Some of those who were killed included Wiggins.
The others were identified as Michael Hall Jr., 14, Anyia Tucker, 21, Leiana Alyse Hall, 30, Kamdien Edwards, 5, Yasire Smith, 5, and Ziaire Mack, 3.
Hall, who was one of the survivors, was reportedly in serious condition when she was rescued.
The accident caught the attention of the NTSB, which investigates motor vehicle accidents.
During a press briefing, NTSB member Alvin Brown said that the agency’s investigators had arrived in Belle Glade. They will be working with the local sheriff’s office in the coming days.
A preliminary report on the accident is expected to be released within a month.
Brown noted that the NTSB is dedicated to investigating motor vehicle accidents that are considered catastrophic.
This incident is the latest in a series of tragedies that have been linked to South Florida’s vast network of waterways and canals, which were dug to drain the vast wetlands of Lake Okeechobee and the Everglades.
According to Dumbaugh, accidents on rural roads commonly follow a pattern.
The drivers tend to cruise along a straight and dark road until they encounter a sudden turn, which can sometimes surprise them.
They then run off the road and into various objects.
The accident scene is still being viewed by the victims’ relatives as they try to come to terms with the loss of their loved ones.
It occurred just days after they had celebrated a major family milestone.
