HILLIARD, Fla. – Two women and four children heading for Jacksonville were killed and a passenger in a second vehicle was injured Friday afternoon in a three-vehicle crash on U.S. Highway 1.
A 38-year-old man who the Florida Highway Patrol said caused the crash was arrested early Saturday and charged with six counts of vehicular homicide.
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The crash happened just before 5 p.m. near Kelly's RV Park, about five miles north of Callahan.
According to the FHP, all the victims who died were riding in a four-door Nissan.
The driver, 39-year-old Melissa Mitchell, of Lawrenceville, Ga. along with her 12-year-old daughter and 4-year-old twin boys were killed in the wreck.
Brenda Mitchell Edwards, 57, of Jacksonville, who was the front-seat passenger, and her 16-year-old daughter also died in the crash.
FHP Lt. Bill Leeper initially said four people died at the scene, an 11-year-old died later in the evening at Shands-Jacksonville Medical Center and the sixth victim -- one of two twin boys -- was found hours later dead inside the wreckage.
Investigators said a Chevrolet Camaro, driven by Pedro Alcazar, was headed south at a high rate of speed attempted to pass the victims' vehicle.
Troopers said the Camaro sideswiped the Nissan, causing it to lose control, and both vehicles crossed the median.
A pickup truck pulling a flatbed trailer heading north swerved to avoid the dust, went into the median and ran over the victims' vehicle, according to the FHP report.
The driver of the pickup was not hurt, but passenger Charlene Freeman, 27, of Kathleen, Fla., was hospitalized with non-life threatening injuries.
Alcazar was also injured in the wreck. A woman with which he had children told Channel 4 that he was complaining of shoulder pain and headaches when he was treated at Baptist Medical Center in Nassau County before being booked into the Nassau County jail.
Alcazar was ordered held on $300,012 bond.
A check of court records found that Alcazar has been cited several times between 1993 and 2005 for traffic infractions, many of them for driving with a suspended driver's license. He has also been cited on other traffic violations and was arrested on domestic violence charges.
Leeper said the Nissan was overturned and crushed when troopers arrived and the pickup truck was nearby on its side. He said the victims' car was a rental and there were suitcases in the trunk.
Family members told Channel 4 that they were headed to Jacksonville to spend Easter weekend together.