A New York man was arrested this month for allegedly causing a car crash last year that killed his niece and three nephews when he slowed down to photograph the “Welcome to Florida” sign at the state border.
The Florida Highway Patrol said in an X post on Wednesday that Marvin Redondo-Funes, 25, is being charged with four counts of aggravated manslaughter of a child and driving while licensing was suspended or revoked, which caused great bodily harm.
The criminal complaint says that Redondo-Funes drove his girlfriend and their four kids from New York to Florida. Around 4 a.m. on July 1, 2023, he crossed the border between Georgia and Florida.
Redondo-Funes is said to have slowed the car down to just 1 or 2 miles per hour as they entered the state of Florida so that he could get a good picture of the “Welcome to Florida” sign.
According to the FHP, a car coming up behind him did not see that Redondo-Funes’ car was slowing down, so it hit the back of it at full speed, right where the four kids were sitting.
Even though Redondo-Funes’ car’s back seat was only meant to fit three people, they were able to fit all four kids in there for the long trip. The warrant says that three of the kids were not wearing seat belts.
Three of the kids were pronounced dead at the scene, and the fourth was rushed to the hospital by ambulance. The fourth child died two days after that.
Their names were taken out of the report, and it is not clear which child was wearing a seat belt when they were rushed to the hospital.
There were no serious injuries to Redondo-Funes, his girlfriend, or the driver of the other car.
Friends and family of the girl and two of the boys who died set up a Go Fund Me to help pay for their funerals. The fundraising page said they were 14, 12, and 10 years old.
Back in New York, police arrested Redondo-Funes and sent him to Florida on November 2. He is still in the Nassau County Jail on a $270,016 bond and is set to go to court for the first time on December 6.
