Investigators estimate a Carlisle teen was driving 110 miles per hour on a dark and unlit highway in the Florida panhandle last month when he crashed into a tractor-trailer, killing himself and two passengers, and injuring a fourth. James “Jimmy” P. McIntosh, a senior at Concord-Carlisle High School, was identified as the driver of the Hyundai SUV that crashed on US 98, where the speed limit is 65 miles per hour, according to a crash report obtained by the Globe. McIntosh, 18, was pronounced dead at the scene of the April 21 crash along with his senior classmate, Hannah Wasserman, who was 17. Wasserman was seated behind McIntosh in the SUV when the crash occurred at about 9:25 p.m. A third classmate, Maisey O’Donnell , 18, a state diving champion, died three days later at Massachusetts General Hospital, the Florida Highway Patrol crash report said. A fourth senior was critically injured in the crash that occurred while school was on break for April vacation. Lieutenant Jim Beauford, chief of public affairs for Florida Highway Patrol, said Tuesday that traffic fatalities are investigated as criminal matters and require forensic testing that comes with lengthy processing times. The crash report provided to the Globe did not address test results, witness statements, or other details Beauford said would be considered to complete the investigation. “We understand the public‘s desire for a fast resolution to these criminal investigations; however, it is more important that we conduct the best investigation possible for the people that are involved,” he said Tuesday in an email. Decisions about whether any charges would be filed in the case will be made once the investigation is complete, Beauford said. The law firm Morgan & Morgan released a statement on behalf of O’Donnell’s family. “The loss of our daughter has devastated us beyond words. We are seeking to understand what led to this senseless tragedy, so others may never have to experience a similarly heartbreaking loss,” the statement said. Attempts to reach the parents of the other victims were not successful Tuesday morning, and Concord-Carlisle School Superintendent Laurie Hunter declined to comment on the crash report. One witness, Dr. Gary Howerton, said he was driving home from work when the SUV passed him. Moments earlier, he had been stopped at a traffic light and didn’t see any vehicles behind him, Howerton said Tuesday. After the light changed, Howerton said, he accelerated to about 72 miles per hour and then saw high-beam lights flashing at him from behind. “The car just blew by me like I was standing still,” said Howerton, who specializes in emergency medicine. “My first impression was, ‘Oh no.’ Something bad is going to happen because of the way he was driving.” Then Howerton said he heard a boom. As the tractor-trailer attempted a U-turn in the median on the Gulf Coast highway, the SUV crashed into the right side of the trailer, the report said. The interior lanes on either side of the median are marked with turn arrows, according to a crash diagram included in the report. Howerton said it appeared to him that the tractor-trailer had about a mile of clear road to make the U-turn. “This car was just going so fast,” he said. “It shouldn’t have happened.” In the crash report, an investigator wrote that McIntosh was “traveling at an excessive speed and failed to slow to traffic turning in front of him.” The truck’s estimated speed was 20 miles per hour, the report said. After the collision, the SUV continued to travel west, crossed the median and eastbound lanes, and then came to a stop along the tree line on the south side of the highway, the report said. The collision ripped the roof off the SUV and bent a support beam underneath the trailer, said Howerton. He said he went to the vehicle, but there was nothing he could do to help the occupants. The report does not say whether the truck driver, Kadyn DeWayne Ainsworth, 19, of DeFuniak Springs, Fla., has been cited or charged, though it notes he failed to yield to the right of way at the time of the crash. Beauford didn’t respond Tuesday to questions about the tractor-trailer’s attempt to make a U-turn. Neither Ainsworth nor his passenger were injured, the report said. Ainsworth didn’t immediately return a message seeking comment on Tuesday. Officials administered tests for drugs and alcohol to Ainsworth, but didn’t record the results. The crash report said investigators wrote they didn’t believe he was under the influence of drugs or alcohol at the time of the collision. Driving conditions were clear and dry. McIntosh was not tested for drugs or alcohol, the report said. Investigators wrote the word “unknown” in places on the form seeking information about whether they suspected he had used alcohol or drugs. Wasserman was not wearing a seat belt, but all the other teens were, investigators wrote. The SUV they were driving in had a Florida license plate and was registered to Nicholas Altreche, the report said. Reached Tuesday morning, Altreche declined to comment. The tractor-trailer is registered to Florida Community Services Corporation of Walton County, the report said. On its website, the organization says it does business as Regional Utilities and serves as the franchised operator of a water and waste water utility system for Walton County. A representative declined to comment Tuesday, citing the ongoing investigation. The corporation has 54 trucks and 25 drivers, federal records show. The April crash is the only one involving the company in the last two years, according to federal data. Trucks registered to the company have undergone two roadside inspections over the last two years, in March and May 2023, and inspectors found no violations, records show.
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