JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — A man was extradited from New York to Nassau County earlier this month, arrested on charges for allegedly causing a "multiple fatality crash by stopping in the travel lanes of I-95 to take a picture of the 'Welcome to Florida' sign," Florida Highway Patrol announced in an X post Wednesday.
Marvin Redondo Funes is currently in custody at the Nassau County Jail, arrested on four counts of culpable negligence involving the death of four juveniles, as well as "numerous other criminal and civil charges," the post states.
FHP said in the post the crash happened on July 1, 2023. Troopers said the day after it occurred, two vehicles were traveling southbound on Interstate 95 near mile marker 381 in Nassau County. Both vehicles were occupying the center lane when, for an unknown reason, troopers said the driver of the vehicle in front slowed and/or stopped on the bridge that separates Florida and Georgia.
The driver of the second vehicle was then unable to react in time and as a result, slammed into the back of the first car, FHP previously told First Coast News.
FHP said a 10-year-old girl, 12-year-old boy and 14-year-old boy in the first vehicle were killed. Additionally, a 14-year-old boy and 57-year-old woman suffered critical injuries; the boy later died. The driver, a 24-year-old man, suffered serious injuries, whereas the driver of the second vehicle suffered minor injuries in the crash, according to FHP.
FHP said all occupants of the first vehicle were/are from Bay Shore, N.Y.
A family member of the children killed told First Coast News days after the tragedy, on the Fourth of July, that the kids were traveling to Miami to be with family for the holiday weekend.
Warrant says Funes drove with revoked driver's license
The arrest warrant for Funes states he "slowed his vehicle to one to two miles per hour," while the vehicle that rear-ended his was traveling "between sixty-five and seventy-eight miles per hour." Further down below in the warrant, it says there were no skid marks from Funes' vehicle indicating that it came to an abrupt stop.
"Interstate 95 is a limited access facility which has a minimum speed limit of forty Miles per hour," the warrant says.
The warrant also mentions that the crash occurred approximately 840 feet south of the Florida-Georgia state line, as the line "is located at the top of the Scrubby Bluff Bridge that spans over the Saint Marys River." Because of this, the warrant says the southern side of the bridge "is not visible to southbound motorists north of the bridge."
The warrant further states Funes' driver's license was revoked by court order, and that the four children killed in the crash, were seated in the back of his vehicle, in a "vehicle that was only designed to hold three people."
"Three out of the four children were not buckled with seatbelts at the time of the collision," the warrant reads.
Funes will make his first court appearance in court on Dec. 6.
