Henry Pierson Curtis- Sentinel Staff Writer
A 32nd-of-an-inch film of tread was all that remained on a bald tire that separated moments before an SUV carrying 10 children overturned and crashed Saturday during an Orlando church outing, the Florida Highway Patrol said Monday.
One child died and eight others suffered serious injuries in the crash on Interstate 95 near the Volusia and Flagler county line.
"The only two wearing seatbelts were the 41-year-old driver and a 15-year-old, front-seat passenger," FHP Sgt. Kim Montes said.
The Ford Explorer was mounted with three different brands of tires, which included a Futura Avenger HT on the right rear wheel. That's the tire that separated before the vehicle struck a guardrail and rolled over twice, Montes said.
An FHP traffic homicide investigator is looking at the nearly bald tire as a possible cause of the fatal crash, Montes said.
The sports utility vehicle carrying 11 people had a maximum capacity for seven occupants.
"There definitely were not enough seatbelts to go around. There were only 7 seating positions and seven seatbelts to adequately restrain the occupants," Montes said.
"We know the 6-year-old boy who died was ejected and we're trying to properly document how many others."
The dead child, Abimaël Saint-Juste, was the son of the driver, Guerline Saint-Juste.
Horrified witnesses described seeing multiple passengers thrown from vehicle as a rolled on the highway. Troopers are determining the actual number ejected.
The SUV carrying the 10 children, ages 5 to 15, was part of a caravan of vehicles driving from Orlando Gospel Assembly on west Oak Ridge Road to another church in Jacksonville.
Charges are pending in the crash.