A New York man was arrested this month after allegedly causing a car crash last year that killed his niece and three nephews when he slowed down to take photos of the “Welcome to Florida” sign at the state border.
Marvin Redondo-Funes, 25, is facing four counts of aggravated manslaughter of a child and driving with a license suspended or revoked causing great bodily injury, the Florida Highway Patrol said in an X post on Wednesday.
Redondo-Funes drove his girlfriend and the four children from New York to Florida, finally crossing the Georgia-Florida border around 4 a.m. on July 1, 2023, according to the criminal complaint.
As they entered the state, Redondo-Funes allegedly slowed the car to just one or two miles per hour to take a clear photo of the “Welcome to Florida” sign. A car coming up behind him didn’t see his vehicle slowing down and plowed into the back of Redondo-Funes’ car at full speed — right where the four kids were sitting, according to FHP officials.
The back of Redondo-Funes’ car was only designed to fit three people, but they managed to squeeze the four children in the backseat for the long journey. Three of the kids were not wearing seatbelts, according to the warrant.
Three of the children were pronounced dead on the scene while paramedics rushed the fourth to a hospital. Two days later, the fourth child died. Their names were redacted from the report, and it is unclear if the child rushed to the hospital was the one wearing a seatbelt.
Redondo-Funes, his girlfriend, and the driver of the other vehicle did not sustain any serious injuries.
A GoFundMe was set up by family members to help cover funeral costs for the girl and two of the boys, who were all siblings. They were 14, 12, and 10 years old, according to the fundraising page.
Police arrested Redondo-Funes back in New York and extradited him to Florida on Nov. 2. He remains in the Nassau County Jail on a $270,016 bond and is expected to make his first court appearance on Dec. 6.
