The eight children injured and three adults were traveling in one of three vans headed back to the YMCA of the Palm Beaches from a weekend trip at Camp McConnell in Micanopy near Gainesville, said Mike Green, director of operations for the YMCA. The children, ranging in ages from 6 to 11, all belonged to the YMCA's after-school program.
The driver of the rented 15-passenger Ford van, Janel Larvin, 23, swerved to avoid a seat that fell from a boat being towed in front of the van, the Florida Highway Patrol said. Larvin lost control of the van, which rolled over several times and landed in the median, said Lt. Pat Santangelo of the Highway Patrol.
Guadalupe Barrios and Moises Rivera, 8, both from the Lake Worth area, were airlifted to Orlando Regional Medical Center after the 11:09 a.m. crash. Guadalupe died at the hospital. Moises' injuries were not life-threatening, Santangelo said.
Larvin, two other adults and seven children suffered minor injuries and were taken to Florida Hospital Kissimmee, where they were treated and released.
"All the kids had their seat belts on," Santangelo said. "We're not sure about the 11-year-old."
Investigators think Guadalupe might have been sitting in the back row of the van, Santangelo added.
Guadalupe's parents drove to Central Florida on Sunday to pick up their son, Marcos, 8, who also was injured in the crash.
Denia Raudales, whose son Moises suffered the most serious of the injuries, said she received a phone call from the YMCA about 1:30 p.m.
"Nobody ever expects this, but what can you do?" Raudales said. "I'm trusting in God that everything will be OK."
Raudales, who was getting a ride to Orlando with a YMCA representative and leaving her two other sons with their grandfather, said she planned to tell her son she loved him as soon as she saw him.
"I'll tell him that I missed him and that his brothers are thinking of him," Raudales said.
YMCA officials notified the parents of the nine children involved in the crash about what happened, then called the parents of the children traveling in the two other vans to notify them that the vans would be arriving later than planned Sunday afternoon, Green said.
Most of the parents of the injured children decided to drive to Kissimmee to pick up their children.
Parents of the children in the other two vans arrived at the YMCA in Palm Springs about 5 p.m. Sunday.
The parents met with YMCA officials inside the building, where they learned of the crash, then left with their children in tow, some with tears in their eyes. Other parents held onto their sons and daughters tightly and kissed them.
Marcia Davis said this was the first time her 7-year-old son Dondre had visited Camp McConnell. The trip included activities such as rope climbing and horseback riding.
"I'm happy to have him home," she said.
Aliyah Kalisher, 9, who was riding in a van ahead of the crash, said she looked back and saw the other van flip several times.
"We were all terrified. We were crying," Aliyah said.
Virginia Spring, 9, of West Palm Beach said she didn't see the van flip, but her van stopped when the crash happened. The adults got out and told the children to stay put, she said.
"I thought someone was hurt really bad," she said.
Green said he did not inform the children of Guadalupe's death.
"I asked [the parents] to tell the children, because they know how their kids will react," said Green, who hoped to have counselors available to the children this week.
Denise Saberson, who taught Guadalupe in kindergarten and first grade at Hagen Road Elementary, said she vividly remembered the girl.
"She was a great kid, a really good student, very motivated, a real happy little girl," Saberson said.
The Highway Patrol will conduct an investigation into Sunday's crash.
"When you put 15 people in a vehicle, it becomes top-heavy," Santangelo said, adding that the dangers are compounded when inexperienced drivers take the wheel."In most circumstances and at most speeds, it's OK, but at highway speeds they become more unstable than a passenger vehicle."
A maneuver such as the one Larvin was forced to try -- turning sharply to avoid hitting the seat cushion -- can easily flip this type of van, Santangelo said.
But Green said Larvin, a counselor at the YMCA, is an experienced driver who has driven the YMCA's passenger van many times in the past. According to Larvin's driving record, she was cited once for speeding in May 2002.
Orlando Sentinel Staff Writer Rebecca Panoff and Staff Researchers Cindy Kent and William Lucey contributed to this report.
