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 WEST PALM BEACH - A day trip through a northwest Palm Beach County wildlife refuge ended in the deaths of a mother, her 12-year-old daughter and 16-year-old niece when their vehicle flipped into a pond, according to the sheriff's office. Tracy Butler, 32, of Loxahatchee, was driving a 1992 Dodge Ram Charger through the J.W. Corbett Wildlife Management Area, a 60,000-acre refuge, officials said. She drowned, along with her daughter, Alyssa Mechetti, and her niece Courtney Butler. Surviving the crash were another daughter, Macie Butler, 15, and Sandra Hofstrand, 16, who escaped as the vehicle sunk into 5 or 6 feet of murky water Sunday. "They were just joy riding," said Joe Hofstrand, Sandra's father. As the two survivors ran toward the park entrance for help, friends riding ahead in another truck doubled back, called 911, and pulled two of the three bodies from the pond before rescue workers arrived, officials said. It wasn't clear what cause the accident, sheriff's officials said. "Obviously, the vehicle was almost out of control," said Sgt. John Churchill. "Whether you can recover from something like that comes down to driver experience." The vehicle's front right tire was flat when rescue workers pulled it from the water, but investigators were not sure when that damage occurred. Also Sunday, Guadalupe Barrios, 11, of Lake Worth, was killed when a van she was riding in overturned on Florida's Turnpike in Kissimmee, according to the Florida Highway Patrol. She had been riding home from a YMCA camping trip in Gainesville with 11 other children and chaperones, officials said. Another passenger in the van, Moises Rivera, 8, of Lake Worth, suffered serious injuries. Lifesaving Resources Inc. - www.lifesaving.com - 603/563-8330 |
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