Brazilian man blamed in crash near Disney World that killed four family members, including a 5-year-old girl, is cited for careless driving and arrested trying to leave the country
- Lucas Dos Reis Laurindo, a 26-year-old Brazilian national, was blamed in a crash near Disney World in Florida that killed four family members on Feb. 18
- Killed were Jackson Smith, 11, his five-year-old sister Scarlett, their mother Julie, 41, and 76-year-old grandmother Josephine Fay of Massachusetts
- Florida Highway Patrol officers issued Laurindo a ticket for reckless driving while federal authorities arrested him on immigration charges
- He was charged with a visa violation while trying to leave the U.S. three days after the crash
- In federal court papers, Laurindo, says he was told ‘he was being detained for deportation because he may have unlawfully worked while in the country’
A Brazilian man who was blamed in a crash near Disney World in Florida that killed four family members, including a 5-year-old girl, was cited for reckless driving and arrested on immigration charges while at an airport trying to leave the U.S.
Lucas Dos Reis Laurindo, 26, was issued a ticket last week in connection with the Feb. 18 crash that killed four members of a Massachusetts family on their way to the theme park, says the Florida Highway Patrol.
Killed were Jackson Smith, 11, his five-year-old sister Scarlett, their mother Julie, 41, and 76-year-old grandmother Josephine Fay.
Lucas Dos Reis Laurindo, a 26-year-old Brazilian national who was blamed in a crash near Disney World in Florida that killed four family members when their van overturned, was cited for reckless driving
Killed in the crash were (from left to right) Scarlett Smith, 5, her brother Jackson Smith, 11, their mother Julie Smith, 41, and grandmother Josephine Fay, 76.
Their Toyota van overturned when it was shunted from behind after it slowed for traffic on the southbound State Road 429 in Osceola County at around 5.30pm.
Four other family members, including Scarlett’s twin sister Skylar, their father Shane Smith, 43 – who was driving – grandfather William Fay, 76, and a 10-year-old girl all escaped with minor injuries after the crash.
The Smith family is from Whitman, Massachusetts, and the Fays are from South Weymouth, Massachusetts.
Laurindo was cited with careless driving for by the highway patrol, while federal authorities arrested him three days after the tragedy at Orlando International airport trying to leave the U.S.
Federal authorities arrested Laurindo after the tragedy at an airport trying to leave the U.S. In a federal petition requesting he be allowed to return to Brazil, Laurindo says he was told ‘he was being detained for deportation because he may have unlawfully worked while in the country.’
In a federal petition requesting he be allowed to return to Brazil, Laurindo says he was told ‘he was being detained for deportation because he may have unlawfully worked while in the country.’
It was not immediately clear what type of work Laurindo allegedly had done illegally.
He had been a resident of Kissimmee, near Orlando, where the crash happened.
He is now being detained at an Immigration and Customs Enforcement, also known as ICE, facility in Florida.