Fla. crash off I-95 leaves 5 people dead

Associated Press

RIVIERA BEACH, Fla.

Five people, including three teenagers, were killed Saturday in Florida after their car was hit by another vehicle that jolted through an interstate exit ramp, authorities said.

The driver of a 2008 Mercedes is believed to have been speeding as he exited Interstate 95 and ran a red light in Riviera Beach, about five miles north of West Palm Beach, shortly after midnight, Florida Highway Patrol Lt. Tim Frith said.

Twenty-one-year-old Jabari Kemp’s vehicle slammed into a 1994 Lexus carrying five people, the youngest 14 and the oldest 22. The impact ejected four people from the car. Only one passenger was wearing a seatbelt, Frith said.

Four of the people in the Lexus were pronounced dead at the scene. A fifth died after being taken to a nearby hospital.

“It’s every parent’s worst fear,” Frith said. “The families right now are the main concern.”

Killed in the crash were: Makita Campbell, 14; Shonteria Grimsley, 17; Jason Mahlung, 21; and Christina Oliver Joseph, 17, all of Riviera Beach, in South Florida. A 22-year-old man also killed in the crash has not yet been identified.