UPDATE: There is an update to this story here
A two-vehicle crash involving multiple high school students turned critical Friday night when one vehicle rolled over and caught fire near the Destin ER, prompting response from the Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office Traffic Homicide Investigation team.
- Destin Fire Rescue reported multiple trauma alert patients were transported to HCA Florida Fort Walton-Destin Hospital, with one patient being airlifted to Sacred Heart Pensacola.
The crash, which occurred at the intersection of Emerald Coast Parkway and Trista Terrace Court, involved students from both Destin High School and the South Walton area.
Destin High School Principal Dr. Diane Kelley visited one of her students and his father at the hospital Friday night, where the student was scheduled for surgery.
“I promised to have his favorite foods waiting, once he is out of surgery,” Kelley said in a statement to school families.
- Additional students from the South Walton area are receiving treatment at various Gulf Coast area hospitals, according to the school. The exact number of injured students has not been specified.
The sheriff’s office noted that its Traffic Homicide Investigation team responds to all crashes involving a fatality or serious injury that could result in a fatality. The westbound lanes of Emerald Coast Parkway were temporarily closed following the incident but have since reopened.
Addressing the school community’s response to the incident, Kelley expressed concern about misinformation spreading online. “This news has taken a toll on our school community, especially the students and staff, as false rumors circulated quickly online,” she said.
To support those affected by the crash, the school is taking immediate action.
- “Our Shark Counseling team will be on campus Monday to assist any students or staff who may need extra support,” Kelley said. “I will personally be coordinating support for the student’s family, as needed.”
Kelley concluded her statement by asking the community to “keep the impacted families, as well as our Sharks and the Seahawk community, in your thoughts and prayers during this difficult time.”
18 Responses
You want misinformation to stop spreading then the government/ county/ state (agencies) need to put the information out there. By now everyone involved passed or alive have been notified. Sheriffs office isn’t being transparent like they say they are. People want to know what’s going on in the community and people are nosey. You’ll never stop online information without the truth being revealed. Sorry if this sounds rude or whatever. But that’s the FACTS. Tell us what is happening. Tell the dang truth government / county / state.
You don’t have a right to other people’s information. If it doesn’t involve you or your loved ones then you have no right to demand the information.
It’s ridiculous to expect them to put out the information immediately. They have to actually investigate what happened, make notifications to family, etc. before they start posting it on social media. You can’t expect it to be posted within minutes or even hours.
This has nothing to do with transparency.
Law Enforcement generally can only release limited nformation until the investigation is completed. Do do otherwise would do nothing but add to misinformation and jeopardize any future litigation.
How would you like to be sitting at home watching TV and hearing about a horrible accident, that killed your child or grandchild? As a retired paramedic/RN, from the pictures of this accident, the police have a lot of work to do, and there may not be anything that identifies each victim, such as a driver’s license, etc, especially if a fire was involved. Believe when I say that you don’t want to go to the scene of the accident. That would stay with you forever. The victims need to be remembered as they were when alive.
You have to be kidding me. With reports the driver was doing over 130mph your first action as a principal is to reward the student with their favorite food? I’m all for waiting for all evidence but we know the speed required to cause this kind of accident should put an individual in handcuffs not being rewarded with their favorite food. The principal should immediately resign due to her incompetence and inability to make sound decisions!!! Had that been her loved one hit by the reckless driving would she be so inclined to make sure the student is rewarded??!!
The kid is in the hospital recovering, do you think maybe the kid feels bad and btw he wasnt going 130 he was going 80. Dont ever say something like this and why would a principal not help the student whose friends are in the hospital and himself too.
Kids need to slow down they are lucky to be alive, but they seem to want to show off!
I agree with Bob -These kids driving recklessly putting our community in danger should be faced with stiff consequences and not with their favorite food how dare a principal say that, parents should be held responsible for their children’s actions. Living in the area I drive HWY 98 daily, and my kids drive my grandkids around. It makes me sick of all the accidents I see on HWY 98 and the traffic it causes. I see people running red lights all the time. When OCSO reported all WB lanes shut down at 6:39 pm, and didn’t report it back open until 3:16 am the next morning I knew it had to be bad I’m just glad my family wasn’t in the area at that time.
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I was there right after. These kids should be charged. I can not believe they did not kill someone with their gross negligence.
Disrespectfully dont ever say something like that again, they were going 70 which is fast and reckless maybe but they are kids and it has been two days, they are still in the hospital. They were my friends. Know your facts before typing something stupid likes this
Was it 70 or 80? You seem to not have your facts together?
I’m sorry cars in a crash doing 70 don’t look like that. The car was split in half and the remaining parts don’t look like they even belong to an automobile.
I agree so much!! The driver at the car obviously feels horrible.Some people from the car are in critical condition right now. I know some people who know the people in the car and people need to stop spreading rumors. If you don’t know them, then you do not need information three days after the accident!
I’m sorry an automobile in a 70 mph crash does not split in half and the parts don’t even resemble a car part. They were going much faster than 70.
I live right on 98 West of Fort Walton Beach. 98 has turned into De-Facto Dragstrip in any area with more than 100 ft between the traffic lights. And at the lights its a launch pad for impromptu races and full-throttle starts. Cars, Trucks and Motorcycles are all equal offenders. City, County and FHP must ramp up enforcement of traffic laws and speed limits in the city limits of Okaloosa county. I don’t recall the number of incidents and accidents (is 130 mph an accident?) when Ashley was Sherriff, our current Sherriff seems to place a low priority on traffic control. I’d like to hear more from Law Enforcement as to how they can curb these occurrences before another tragedy like this. Oh, and parents; giving your immature kid a 500 horsepower, 60k car is not doing him or the community any favors either.
We should NOT feel sorry for these delinquents who are so lucky no one was killed. The drive should serve jail time and the parents that allowed these delinquents to have access to a 450hp car should also face jail time or a minimum of a large lawsuit. A car does not rip in half and look like a ball of tin foil if it was not going way over 70mph. Let’s get that clear.